It's All About the Journey
by KakashiSauce
Summary: Iruka had always respected Kakashi. Their relationship had it's ups and downs, but that never tarnished his admiration for the dedicated shinobi. When Tsunade assigns them a mission together, Iruka gets a chance to really discover who Kakashi is. It's about the journey, and not the destination. (Yaoi) Eventual KakaIru.
1. Chapter 1

Iruka always respected Kakashi. Their relationship, limited as it was, went through its ups and downs (the chuunin exams being the famous down); but that never tarnished his admiration for the dedicated shinobi. Their most recent encounter, and one of the most impressionable Iruka had ever had, sealed his opinion of Kakashi forever.

Looking up into Pein's emotionless face, Iruka was fully prepared to die. He was not going to leave his comrade, and he especially would never give anyone information that could lead to Naruto's harm. To expect death and instead get Kakashi –brave, steady and strong- was a feeling Iruka would never forget. To later learn that that encounter had cost Kakashi his life (although briefly) affected Iruka so deeply he swore he would never cross the shinobi again; especially not for a petty reason such as a conflict of opinions. He also secretly wished to repay him for his kindness, although the thought of ever saving Kakashi's life was utterly laughable. So, Iruka had contented himself with being as kind and helpful to the shinobi as he could, whatever the circumstance.

So, you could imagine Iruka's total, complete and utter shock at being summoned into Tsunade's office for a mission –and seeing Kakashi there, hands in his pockets, looking at him expectantly. Tsunade grinned a wolfish, amused grin at Iruka's confusion as he closed the door politely and stepped inside her office.

"Kakashi-san." Iruka greeted in his usual polite manner, the surprise and slight confusion mingling with his pleasantry. "Tsunade-sama, you summoned me?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei! Please, come forward and stand next to Kakashi." Iruka did as he was told, smiling slightly at the familiar way Tsunade addressed Kakashi. For some reason, it made him happy to see them on such good terms. Maybe it was because he never saw Kakashi with anyone, and so any hint of friendship was a relief to the chuunin. He came to a stop next to the taller man, who regarded him with his usual eye smile.

"Greetings, Iruka-sensei."

"Iruka-sensei." Tsunade began before the Chuunin could address Kakashi again. "I've called you to my office because I have a very important mission for you. Yes –a mission. I realize most of your hard work is done within Konoha, but the requirements of this mission suit you so wonderfully, there's really no one else who can do it."

Iruka visibly balked. HIM? Now, Iruka was completely aware of his skill set. He knew he was a solid, capable chuunin, especially strong in the basics from his years of teaching. However, he never really did particularly IMPORTANT missions that required the HOKAGE to administer them (with the exception of anything that had to do with Naruto). He was nowhere near that skilled –that was what the Jounin and ANBU were for. "Tsunade-sama, I am honoured to be considered by you. What do you require?"

Tsunade and Kakashi both grinned at Iruka's infallible politeness, which had him blushing scarlet and slightly tipping his head down. He didn't understand why he always seemed to amuse his superiors in such a way. Wasn't everyone supposed to be respectful?

"Iruka-sensei, this will be an undercover mission. It requires someone who has impeccable social skills, can read and relate to people, and is able to see through half-assed diplomatic lies like it's his job." At her last phrase, she beamed at him –seeing as that WAS, basically, part of his job. "This will obviously be your role in the mission. You are to pose as a wealthy merchant from Konoha in a very high risk, but incredibly important social gathering of other high ranking merchants from various countries. The details are in the mission scroll, but basically, we've been hearing rumors that Mist traders are attempting to rally together and put an unofficial blockade on trade between other countries and Fire."

Iruka gaped. What a move to make, after everything Konoha had been through. Unoffical made sense, since the present Mizukage obviously had nothing against the Fire country. Iruka squared his shoulders, his outrage temporarily dismissing his surprise at the high ranking mission he was being assigned. "We know for certain the officials of Mist are not involved...?"

"Not entirely, since Mist has quite the reputation –but certain enough to know where to focus our intel. For now, at least." She signed, then looked up at Iruka and quipped: "Do you accept?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. Of course! I am honoured and will do my best." He exhaled with a slight bow.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair with another broad grin. "Excellent, I knew I could count on you. Well, I'll tell you the rest of the mission parameters, then. You are obviously not going alone –Kakashi here will be going as your "body guard". However, we always enjoy the element of surprise, so he will be posing as a hired hand. One with a skill level that isn't too intimidating until we need it to be."

Once again, Iruka gaped. Well, he knew Kakashi must have had something to do with his mission. Now, however, the rank level really hit him. For him to be working side by side with just Kakashi...and for Kakashi to be a necessity for this mission. Well...now, he was starting to doubt himself. He truly hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the famous Jounin. He turned abruptly and noticed Kakashi watching him with a soft, amused expression. He realized that he must have been gawking for quite a while. He flushed deeply –geeze, he really needed to learn to control himself the way Kakashi did.

"Tsunade-sama...this mission...I...I mean, Kakashi-san is-"

"-Oh, it's perfect for both of you! You don't even need to break character. One is the stoic, silent protector; the other is a smiling courteous socialite. It's like poetry, really. Also, you've already accepted, so you're stuck with him now."

"OH! No, no, I have nothing against Kakashi-san, really. I'm really quite honoured to work with him, I understand he's quite...above..." Iruka just stopped himself when he realized Kakashi was levelling him with far too intense, and yet bizarrely soft, a look. "...I will be ready to leave whenever we're required, Tsunade-sama. Thank you for this assignment." He figured he'd better just stop before his entire head exploded from concentrated heat. Seriously, why did this always happen to him? He was utterly composed and domineering in the classroom, and quite often at the mission desk. He swore he had more authority than this.

"Excellent! Here is your scroll. Meet Kakashi at the gates in three days at sunrise. Dismissed!"

With that, Iruka and Kakashi silently turned and walked out of Tsunade's office. Once the door was closed, Iruka turned to Kakashi with a broad smile on his face. "Well, Kakashi-san! It's been such a long time since we've worked together. I really am honoured to be on this mission with you, and I do assure you I will perform to a standard you'll find acceptable."

Kakashi laughed good naturedly, his eye cranking up into a tall 'u'. "There was never any doubt about that, Iruka-sensei, otherwise you would not have been chosen for this mission."

"A-ah...well, yes, of course." Predictably, Iruka's face inflamed bright enough to direct a small crowd through the woods in the dead of night. "I just...well, you see, I really wasn't expecting to be assigned this kind of mission. Not that I don't appreciate it, it's just...ah...umm..." once again, Iruka trailed off under the strong gaze of Kakashi. He never noticed how intense his lazy expression could get...he only had one eye, how could he capture someone's attention with it like that, and with seemingly no effort?

"Maa...Iruka-senseiiii. So bashful." He almost purred in his long, husky drawl, leaning in slightly to train his eye on Iruka. "You'll do just fine, we all believe that." And without another word he smiled, cast his hand signals and promptly disappeared.

Iruka was left standing in the hallway, mere moments from an excruciatingly awkward, geyser level nose bleed from sheer embarrassment. He needed to get his shit together before the mission, or he wouldn't have enough blood circulating through the rest of his body for normal, everyday functions, let alone shinobi level stealth and accuracy.

-POOF-

"Ah, Iruka-sensei...I forgot to mention: We're supposed to be star crossed lovers in this mission. Deeply in love, but unable to be together due to the differences in our stations and the barriers of our conflicting life styles."

"..."

Iruka was fully incapable of response. He was trapped in an endless limbo of being utterly shocked, deeply embarrassed, oddly intrigued, and rightfully critical. As such, his expression was priceless. And exactly what Kakashi was aiming for; after a few moments of thorough enjoyment, he grinned his usual happy-go-lucky grin and flashed Iruka the peace sign.

"Just teasing, sensei -you better get that checked out."

-POOF-

Iruka blinked slowly, than pressed his fingers gingerly to his nose –they came away, tinged red.

Damnit.


	2. Chapter 2

Iruka stood at the gates as the sun slowly crept over the horizon, gazing into the early morning with a slight anxiety in his heart. He hated it, but he was nervous. This was a big mission, way bigger than anything he'd ever been assigned. He had Kakashi with him, a thought that put him at ease and also made him edgy, but he still wondered exactly how much he could handle. He did not want to depend on Kakashi for the success of this mission, so he fought hard not to end every thought with "-but Kakashi-san is with me!" and instead eased his own fears with self assurances that whatever was out there, it really couldn't be worse than a pre-genin throwing a temper tantrum with a full arsenal of kunai and a horribly put together jutsu. In the middle of a full classroom. On more than one occasion.

Seriously, ninja's made horrible parents like, 60% of the time...

Besides, it's not like he'd NEVER been on a mission before. He had his fair share, that's for sure. He just thought those days were behind him.

Speaking of behind...

Iruka spun as his hand flew to his kunai pouch. Before he could release one into the air and his potential victim, he relaxed when he recognized the fairly familiar chakra.

"We haven't been together a minute and you already want to kill me, sensei?"

Iruka smiled and turned to fully face Kakashi as he materialized out from behind a cluster of trees. "I think it would be worse for me in the long run if you died before the mission, Kakashi-san. I would much rather have you ali-Oh!"

Iruka started as Kakashi came into full view. He knew this was an undercover mission, but he was still shocked to see Kakashi wearing anything other than the standard Konoha uniform. He was decked out in a very roguish combination of a deep blue tunic wrapped in a tight, tied off body armour, dark blue pants with tall padded boots, bare biceps with full padded forearms, and an eye patch over his sharingan. He, of course, had a deep blue facemask that covered his neck and disappeared into his tunic. He looked like a cross between an ANBU member and an old school shinobi warrior.

Not to mention the fact that his hair was tied back into a tight pony tail and was no longer silver, but a deep black.

"K-Kakashi-san! I never imagined you'd dye your hair!"

Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly and walked up to Iruka's side, playing with the sword that hung loosely from his waist. "Maaa...it isn't permanent. It's just a simple food dye. I get far too much attention otherwise; many people misjudge me for my father."

Iruka smiled softly at Kakashi at the mention of his father. He knew it was a touchy subject, so he let his smile be the only response to Kakashi's statement. "Well, if I didn't know you, I would peg you for an Uchiha!"

"Mmm...?"

Iruka continued offhandedly, not yet accustomed to Kakashi enough to avoid a deathtrap when it was opening up right in front of his feet.

"You know, the black hair, angular features, and also your skin is quite pale –you really look a lot like many of the Uchiha's I've seen." Iruka smiled, clearly making polite conversation with someone he trusted. Kakashi smiled right back, which made Iruka smile broader.

"So, you think I'm handsome?"

"I- Oh. What?"

"That was very descriptive, Iruka-sensei. You like my hair better like this?"

Iruka's mouth formed a very charming "O" and his entire head inflamed.

"I-I-uhhh...well, of course you looked fine before, I mean you look good now...wait, but no, I wasn't trying to say you were handsome-"

"Oh..." Kakashi's shoulders slouched slightly, and his eye drooped just a fraction. "So I'm not handsome?"

"Wha-wha, no, of course you're handsome!"

"Ah, so you do find me attractive? That's very reassuring, sensei."

"WHAT?" Iruka was so confused he thought he was going to have a hernia. How the hell did their conversation spiral so out of control?

"N-no! I didn't...I mean...I have no idea what's happening right now..." He could not believe what Kakashi was saying to him. The cool, reserved, strong, infamous Kakashi. Iruka had heard a lot of stories from Naruto about Kakashi's utter weirdness. Was THIS what he was talking about?

Kakashi sighed, a long, drawn out sigh. "No need to speak any further, Iruka. Ninja's don't have to be desirable. Their life is to serve others; and their countries."

Iruka just stood and stared at Kakashi with an absolutely stupefied expression, knowing better at this point then to attempt an answer that would dig him further into his pit of mortification. Just then, Kakashi snapped to attention. His whole demeanour suddenly became smooth, calm and chiselled.

"Ah, looks like the sun is up. The mission has begun. Come, Iruka-sensei. Hand over your weapons."

Iruka started. What the hell...? Kakashi just reverted back to his...normal?...self within the blink of an eye, as if their conversation never happened. Iruka stared, hard, at Kakashi, attempting to judge whether he was being serious or if this was some kind of twisted plot to get him embarrassed again. When Kakashi stood, his hand out stretched, waiting for Iruka with his usual lazy expression, Iruka slowly reached inside of his robes to his hidden kunai pack.

"But why, Kakashi? Wouldn't that hinder our progress if we get into trouble?" Iruka asked, obviously uncomfortable with being unarmed. His entire body was stiff as he moved, unnecessarily slow, for his weapons.

Kakashi's expression softened with understanding. "Unfortunately, Tsunade requested that you fit the role as closely as possible. If anyone sees you have ninja weapons, they may get suspicious."

Iruka sighed, swallowed, and handed his pouch over. Kakashi smiled at him softly. "Sorry, sensei." And slipped the pouch in with his own gear. "Well, you certainly look the part, so I suppose we're all set. I will lead; follow closely until I tell you to stop."

Iruka just nodded, definitely not bothering to inquire into Kakashi's mood swings. Knowing him, he was probably just messing with Iruka. Trying to see how many of his buttons he could press. Well. Iruka squared his shoulders as Kakashi turned his back to him to prepare to leave. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction so easily again.

He flipped his robes over from on top of his arms. He was dressed in a very fine merchants robe set, emerald green on the top and a soft cream underneath. He had had his weapons concealed very artfully within the folds of his clothing behind his back –he was no amateur- but he supposed if Kakashi deemed it was necessary he wouldn't argue. His headband was gone, obviously, and he wore loose cream pants with brown sandals. Definitely the fanciest he'd ever dressed in his life, and he admitted with some bashfulness that he felt really good dressed up the way he was. It was almost like he was a character in a play. Well, he supposed in a way, he really was.

Just then, Kakashi leaped into the trees, and Iruka followed stealthily. With that, their journey began. They spent most of their travel in silence, with Kakashi signalling to Iruka here and there and Iruka following skilfully. He was surprised at how easy it was to leap through dense forest with his robes. He was also fully composed from his confusion earlier, and found he fell into routine with Kakashi naturally. The jounin was obviously a very experienced leader, and he took control with amicable ease.

Finally, Kakashi gave the hand signal for them to stop suddenly. Iruka landed next to Kakashi in artful silence, and crouched low to the branch in preparation for whatever was coming.

"Sensei, this is it. In just a few yards, we'll be at the path the merchants take to their various destinations. We'll have to continue from here on foot." Iruka nodded, and Kakashi continued. "The most important thing is to keep your chakra suppressed. I'm sure the others will have ninja body guards; they can't suspect anything from you, or our mission will fail and I'll have dyed my precious hair for nothing."

Iruka blinked, and at Kakashi's wink, smiled brightly. "That would be the most tragic part of all, Kakashi-san."

"Right? It took me three hours and I ruined four towels." He stood then, in one fluid movement, back into ninja mode. "Alright. You go first, sensei."

Iruka wordlessly leapt onto the ground, straightening and adjusting his robes and hair so he didn't look like he'd just traveled via tree branch for the last three hours. Hopefully, anyway. Once he was satisfied, he continued forward, until he felt Kakashi land behind him. In a moment, he was out in the open, walking calmly onto the well worn path. Kakashi was keeping a few paces behind him; Iruka supposed bodyguards and merchants didn't clamber along side by side like old friends. That was a shame...he figured it would be better to befriend someone who was in charge of your life. Common sense, really.

It took them only half an hour of walking in fake uncaring silence until they happened upon a communal set up of very elaborate tents. Iruka took a deep breath, steeled himself, and sauntered on. He tried to get into his persona of confident, collected, savvy merchant; who was also a total badass. Oh heck yah. He didn't give a shit about anybody. Oh ho...Iruka was gonna have fun on this mission, damnit.

Quicker than he expected, Iruka was intercepted by someone. Judging by his stylish, quality clothing, he was probably a wealthy merchant. Exactly the kind of person he wanted to talk to.

"Hey, there! I've never seen you before...what brings you here?" The merchant asked; a medium build, medium height, gruff looking man for his choice of clothing.

"I am on my way to the conference in Mist. I don't often trade on this route...it's a little too hectic for me, you see." He answered smoothly, but not nearly as cut and dry as he'd like. Damnit, he was too Iruka to be cold.

"Ah...yes, actually, I agree with you. Freakin' annoying actually, if you ask me. So many shady, nothing sellers pandering around our silk trail." He looked like he wanted to turn around and spit, but had just THAT much class not to. He noticed Kakashi and craned his neck. "Who's that? Your hired hand?"

"Yes, exactly. He's very effective."

"He looks like a poster boy...where'd you find him, a harem?"

Only because Iruka was THAT much of a professional did he not turn completely red. He didn't have to turn around to know Kakashi was expressionless. "I didn't pick him because he's pretty..."

"Riiiight...hey, no judging here, haha!" he elbowed Iruka in the gut more violently then he should have considering they were complete strangers, and Iruka recoiled rightfully. However, in the next instant, a quick "shiiiiiiin" was heard, and Kakashi was standing between Iruka and the merchant with his sword stuck in the ground in front of him. The jounin glared harshly, scrunching his nose dramatically.

"Wow, woooow! Easy there, princess. Geeze. How much are you paying this guy? You must be doing well, wherever you're trading."

Iruka just smiled smoothly. Inwardly, he was cheering up a storm. He shouldn't be having this much fun on a serious mission. "I do very well, thank you. We must be going though; we've had a long journey and need some freshening up. I'm certain I will meet you again at the conference."

"Uh, yah. Sure..." the merchant was staring uneasily at Kakashi, who was a stone statue between them, practically unblinking. The shorter man glared openly. "You can move aside now, hot shot. I obviously am not attacking anybody."

Kakashi remained still. Iruka, through sheer force of will, only smiled ever so slightly. "You may let him pass." Kakashi smoothly stepped aside and sheathed his sword. The merchant stuck out his lip.

"What is he, castrated or something? Or is he paid not to talk?"

It only took Iruka a fraction of a second to make that decision.

"Castrated..." He leaned in "...don't want his 'poster boy looks' causing distractions on the job, now do we?"

Iruka, he was certain, felt Kakashi stiffen at the answer. The merchant threw his head back and gaffed. "HAW HAW HAW! No WONDER he has such a bad attitude. MAN. I like you. I'll see you around...oh, what's your name?"

Iruka quickly picked around inside his brain for their codenames. "Myuki." He stuck out his hand. "A pleasure to meet you...?"

"Hanko!" the man clasped his hand. "Just ask for me at the conference, I'll set you up with whatever you want; introduce you to the right people. See yah around!"

Once he was out of earshot, Kakashi craned around so his face was close to Iruka's.

"CASTRATED?" He ground out, his eyes actually surprised. Iruka flushed initially, inwardly slightly ashamed he'd embarrassed the jounin. But then...he remembered.

Iruka leaned in, ever so slightly, and his eyes narrowed to their mischievous hardness they often became when he felt someone deserved his wrath. "Oh yes. That's what you get, Kakashi-san, for playing with me earlier this morning." While he still had the courage, he patted Kakashi on the cheek, spun around, and walked away. He REALLY wished he could see the expression on Kakashi's face, but his elegant get away was worth the mystery.

He knew he would probably deeply, deeply regret incurring Kakashi's wrath later on; but for right now, it was definitely worth it.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Iruka slipped into their tent first, jaw dropping slightly at the elegance of the simple set up. Tsunade had spared no expense...he almost felt bad. He knew they had to keep up appearances, however, so he simply tried to appreciate the lavishness instead of feeling ashamed of it. The tent itself was deeply embroidered, and although the furniture was sparse, all of it was made of shining silk with beautiful, bold colors. Iruka walked around the space slowly, lightly caressing the fine material of the various objects he encountered.

"Not bad..."

Iruka whirled around. Damn, Kakashi really was good. He hadn't sensed or heard him come in at all. He felt a slight embarrassed blush surfacing, and fought hard to repress it. He really hated that he ACTUALLY felt bad about his earlier comment. It was all in good fun, and as he definitely experienced firsthand, Kakashi was no stranger to teasing. The jounin did NOT seem like the type of person who could dish it and not take it.

"Everything is very beautiful. I wish my apartment looked like this..." Iruka found himself sighing with a pout. He perked up instantly when he heard a hearty laugh, and looked at Kakashi. The jounin was smiling his friendly smile at him. Iruka couldn't help it, he smiled back. How do you not smile when Sharingan no Kakashi smiles at you? He blushed at that thought, too. Oh calm down Iruka, you fangirl.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Kakashi tossed his sword into a corner of the tent and melted into one of the chairs that was pulled out beside a small, ornate table. He whipped out a scroll, flew through a few hand signs and the parchment popped open. Iruka wordlessly sat down across from him, flipping the fabric from his wrists as he settled his arms on the table. Damn, you knew you were rich when you could afford to have such an excessive amount of weight burdening your main defence. Who designed these robes?

"The conference is just a days walk from here, although since we're supposed to be wealthy and lazy, we should have a caravan to take us there. I have a scroll for that, so not to worry." The jounin pushed the scroll up as he read. "The main thing we have to worry about on our trip is the other merchants. They are naturally suspicious, but since they're plotting something that could get them all killed, they will be on their guard more than usual. Iruka, I realize you are practically defenceless, which as you mentioned already could cause serious issues if we're confronted-" Kakashi paused to reach into his pack, which Iruka was grateful for because he blushed hard at the slight praise from the jounin. Geeze...

"-So I have this for you instead. It isn't much, but you can use it in a pinch."

Iruka blinked at the object being passed to him, and took it. It was a scroll, wrapped tight, and closed with an impressively complicated looking seal. "What is it, Kakashi-san?"

"It's a jutsu. Just put a little of your chakra into the seal, and it'll release. It isn't much, but it was all I could think of on such short notice. Besides, it's something a merchant could easily be taught to use to defend himself."

Iruka blinked again, then smiled so broadly it lit up his entire face. "Why, thank you, Kakashi-san! How considerate!" He tucked the scroll away into his robes, folded his hands, and beamed at Kakashi again. "I am so grateful to be partnered with you, Kakashi-san. You take your mission and position seriously, and yet you always consider your teammates. It really eases my soul to know that Naruto is under your care."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to look shocked. His eye widened slightly, then after a moment, his cheeks actually tinged a slight pink and he cuffed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Maa...sensei, it really isn't that big of a deal...it only took a minute..."

"Well, it's the thought that counts, right?" Iruka just kept smiling his natural, kind Iruka smile, and Kakashi's blush actually deepened to the point where he stood up from the table and had to take a few steps to the side to regain his composure.

"Hem...yes, uh, I suppose. Thanks..." Kakashi, at that moment, was back to his natural self, and gave Iruka the standard eye smile.

Iruka nodded, satisfied that Kakashi accepted the due compliment, and diverted his attention back to the scroll. "So, hmm...according to our mission, the next course of action is to mingle as much as possible at the conference. Well, that makes sense. Thankfully I seem to have impressed someone already, so we can take him up on his...Kakashi?"

Iruka stopped reading when he had instinctively glanced up from the scroll to find the jounin studying him with an intense, yet utterly unreadable expression. Iruka thought to himself that only Kakashi could look intense and soft at the same time. However, at the mention of his name, Kakashi replaced the look with his usual eye smile.

"Please continue, Iruka-sensei."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Author: That's it for this chapter! Hope you all like. I have way too short of an attention span for long chapters, but I do plan to keep them coming if people are enjoying.


	3. Chapter 3

CAN'T STOP WRITING! Man, I have homework to do and stuff. Yet I keep fanficing it up. Thank you everyone who has given me feedback so far; I really appreciate it! People actually reading this story is keeping my writing frenzy going, haha.

Just in case...I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

After discussing their mission for around an hour, they both decided it was best if they leave the tent and mingle some more. Iruka was really disappointed at the thought of basically having to ignore Kakashi for the rest of the night. The chuunin thoroughly enjoyed the others company; he was a very intelligent, reserved yet quirky individual who intrigued Iruka as well as continued to impress him. Iruka assumed Kakashi at least felt marginally inclined to him as well, although with Kakashi it was always really hard to tell. He wasn't ever mean to anyone (that Iruka could see...) and he seemed to treat his friends, companions and remote acquaintances exactly the same.

Well...maybe that was because he never really treated anyone as a close friend, so they all kind of seemed like acquaintances. Or maybe Kakashi was just SO reserved that it was hard to tell the difference unless you REALLY knew him. Yes, he supposed that had to be it. Not that he knew other people's business, but Kakashi seemed to go back very far with Gai-sensei. There was another, too, that Naruto mentioned...Oh! Yamato-san. Iruka knew next to nothing about the replacement captain for Kakashi's team, but according to Naruto, Yamato had served under Kakashi while both of them were ANBU members. He said they seemed to converse easily; like old friends.

Well...except when Kakashi was driving Yamato insane. Iruka was starting to understand what that meant.

But, no...really, Kakashi just needed a little bit of time. He was different, for sure, but once you got to understand his mannerisms, he was really quite charming.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Hmm?" Iruka popped his head up, and out of his thoughts, at the sound of Kakashi's voice.

"Better get ready to go. It seems there are a lot of people mingling outside already."

"Ah! Of course, Kakashi-san." Iruka smiled and glided out of his chair smoothly, heading back to the corner of the tent to grab the rest of his 'ensemble'. Apparently merchants loved to show off when they were around other merchants, so Iruka had to lay it on EVEN THICKER, including his clothing. He donned some lavish looking wrist cuffs, threw on a silk cloak, and then...well, he stopped. He had no idea what else to do with himself. He thought he looked done up enough already...

"Heh, sensei...I have an idea." Kakashi had been watching Iruka as he dressed, and noticed his hesitance. He walked calmly up to the other man and stopped just in front of him, raising his hands with a cocked eyebrow, as if to ask, 'may I?'

Iruka blinked, flushed a little, and nodded. Kakashi reached around, gently grabbed Iruka's hair tie and tugged it off with one clean pull. Iruka jumped slightly, not expecting that AT ALL, and self-consciously combed out his hair with his fingers. "Ah...you...think that looks better?"

Kakashi smiled softly down at Iruka, which just worsened the poor chuunin's blushing bride situation. "I noticed a lot of the merchants keep their hair down. I suppose they don't need it to be out of their face if they aren't dodging lethal attacks."

Iruka flushed even harder. Well of COURSE, there was always a practical reason for everything Kakashi did. "Ah! Yes...right. I hadn't noticed, Hah! I suppose that's why you're the leader, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi continued to stare down at Iruka, his expression uncharacteristically soft, but still, with that...edge to it behind his eyes that Iruka couldn't place. Edge was the wrong word...maybe Kakashi was studying him. Yes, that seemed more fitting. Iruka squirmed slightly...he had no idea what Kakashi thought of him, he realized. Kakashi was kind; he could only be treating Iruka fairly because they were partners.

"You're far too kind, Iruka-sensei."

"Huh?" Iruka blinked, startled. Funny...he was just thinking Kakashi was kind.

Kakashi couldn't read minds, could he? Iruka seriously wouldn't put it past him.

"It's what got you into teaching, right? You couldn't bring yourself to maim people on a regular basis." Kakashi said it with a smile, obviously not meaning it as an insult, but Iruka looked down anyway. He wasn't very proud of his inability to be a proper shinobi.

"Ah...well. Yes, I suppose...it was something like that."

"Don't look like that." Kakashi said, suddenly serious. Iruka looked up, startled once again. "It's a good thing you're teaching instead of someone like me; I'd either turn them into little hellions or lazy, unappreciative, arrogant brats."

Iruka interjected right away, not liking Kakashi underestimating himself in any manner. Even if he wasn't being serious about what he was saying...Iruka knew this, deep down, but his nurturing nature took over EVERY TIME.

"No, Kakashi-san! You have so much skill, you could teach them far more then I could. I kind of...prep them, so they can have a chance to become someone like you." He paused. "You would just have to, uh...show up on time for class. Every day. And, you know...not read your book in front of the students."

Kakashi regarded Iruka for a moment before speaking. "You know...you're the first person I've ever met who can bring someone else up so high without pulling himself down in the process."

Iruka was taken aback. He wasn't used to so many compliments from someone of Kakashi's calibre. "Kakashi-san...what do you mean? What I say about you is merely the truth. And...whatever I admit about myself, that's the truth, too. Even if it isn't the best truth, I still have to accept it. You're a far better shinobi then me; that's right, isn't it?"

Kakashi stepped in closer, and very lightly, clasped Iruka's shoulders with both his hands. Iruka's entire face became one with the pomegranate. He didn't even know WHY he was flustered...he just was. That was just him; flustered.

"Iruka..." Iruka started a little at the total loss of formality in the name "what I meant was; most people, when they compliment someone, they do it in a way that degrades themselves. Like...'Oh Kakashi, you're SUCH a great shinobi...if only I could fight like you. But I can't, because I am so weak and defenceless. You're such a genius and so talented, and so strong, if only I was-"

"Kakashi-san." Iruka deadpanned.

"I was just setting the mood." He said, eye smile bright as ever. "Anyway, you get my point, right? You don't say it like that. You take great pride in your friends and your students. You seem to genuinely like it when people are successful, and as you said, you accept yourself for what and who you are. That is very admirable, and very rare."

Iruka was back to blushing again. "Thank you, Kakashi-san...I..." Oh god, don't embarrass yourself. Well, no, Kakashi was complimenting him; he might as well give back, too. "Well, I really respect you. I think you have...ah...admirable and rare qualities, too."

"Like my prettiness?"

"I-what?"

"You said I was pretty."

"...I...no, wait...I didn't say that!" Iruka stepped back, his cheeks flushed again, this time with slight annoyance. Kakashi was trying to get him all embarrassed again! Well, he wasn't going to let him win this time. He was onto him!

"Yes, you did. When that merchant called me a poster boy and asked if you got me from a harem. You said you didn't pick me because I was pretty. Hence, you said I was pretty."

Iruka's jaw fell right open. His brain scrambled...then, he remembered exactly what Kakashi was talking about. Oh, come on! He was just going with what the MERCHANT said.

"Kakashi...Hanko is the one who said he thought you were attractive. I was answering him based on that."

"So, I'm ugly?"

"Wha? UGH! You are EXASPERATING, that's what you are!" Iruka glared, spun on his heel, and stormed out of the tent. NO, he was NOT going to stand there and sputter like a little genin teenager.

It did not help his mood when he heard Kakashi roaring with laughter inside the tent as he exited in a huff.

Ooooooooooooooo

Iruka regained his cool exterior a few moments after he'd left the tent. He would figure out how to deal with Kakashi...there was some kind of system to it. It was one of his goals on this mission; aside from successfully completing the mission itself, of course.

He walked around the 'camp' grounds (calling this place a camp was just ludicrous) with what he hoped was detached ease. He needed to find more people to talk to, to extract information from. He noticed a giant tent seemingly in the middle of everyone elses...it seemed like the kind of place everyone would gather to. Logically, that should be his destination –and so that's where he headed to.

Iruka found the entrance to the tent to be, unsurprisingly, guarded by ninja. He narrowed his eyes in slight concentration and tried to feel out their chakras. Well...they weren't amateurs, that was for sure. Although they were certainly no match for Kakashi. Whether or not he could handle them would have to be seen with the way they fought; a lot of rogue ninja's were very sloppy with their form and taijutsu. Iruka could easily get them with that –his was flawless. Not exactly lightning fast or with Gai strength, but you'd be surprised at how easily you could down an opponent who didn't know the proper place to put his feet.

"Wait right there." One of them demanded before Iruka had a moment to greet them. He nodded slightly, and stood where he was. The guard who spoke walked up to him and quickly patted him down. Looks like it was a good thing he listened to Kakashi and wasn't armed...this guard was being very thoro-

"-EXCUSE ME!" Iruka absolutely bristled, trying to look insulted and dignified. The guard just laughed and stepped back.

"Sorry, sir...we have to be careful, you understand."

He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Yes, you do have to be careful..." and shouldered past both of them. With the way the guards looked slightly put off, he assumed he was successful in getting his non-lethal threat across. Seeing as this was such a high calibre event, the guards must have been paid very well, and didn't want to lose their positions due to a powerful merchant being displeased with their attitudes.

Wait. Speaking of attitudes...Kakashi. He was supposed to be with him at all times. He completely forgot...how could he have-

"Boss."

Iruka turned. It was Kakashi. How the hell...

Kakashi noticed Iruka's surprise, levelled him with a bored look, and just shrugged; as if to say "Because I'm Kakashi."

Iruka deadpanned. Right. Famous and stuff. Iruka regarded him cooly, then turned to scan the crowd. He tried to make it like it was part of his character, but if he was honest with himself, he was still annoyed with Kakashi. Or maybe he was annoyed with himself for letting Kakashi's teasing get to him. No, damnit, it was Kakashi's fault.

No...no, it wasn't. Iruka was a grown man, he should be able to-

"-_Boss..._" Iruka nearly jumped clean out of his clothes when Kakashi appeared right at his shoulder and practically whispered into his ear. What in the world was he thinking? Iruka darted his eyes around quickly –no one noticed them at all.

"Yes..."

"Are you mad?"

Iruka caught himself, and kept his mouth clamped shut, when it really wanted to just hang open. It was amazing how he could control himself when he knew he was in the middle of a mission. "Ka-ah..." Shit, what the hell was Kakashi's code name? "-Kyto...I am just a little annoyed."

Iruka could actually feel Kakashi grin behind him. "Sorry. I can't help it; I'm evil, I exploit people's weaknesses."

Iruka didn't know whether to bristle at the 'weaknesses' or chide Kakashi for calling himself evil. He settled for an in between.

"There is no weakness to exploit, and you are not evil. You're just..."

"Yesss...?" Kakashi asked, with far too much amusement.

"...Different."

"Ha!" Iruka actually jumped a bit, not expecting Kakashi's reaction. "Different...that is a very inoffensive way to put it, sensei. Very much like you." He laughed, much more softly as he was clearly in good spirits, than stepped back. A moment later, Iruka could sense someone coming up to them.

"Hey! Just the person I was looking for." It was obviously Hanko, although Iruka didn't expect him to be THAT happy to see him. He didn't know if he should be suspicious, or sorry for someone who obviously didn't have very many people to look forward to.

"Hanko. Good to see you again."

"Yah, ditto."

Iruka grinned. He totally didn't remember his name; good. That made Iruka look classier, and also, made Hanko look a little less odd. "I was just mentioning you to a couple of comrades I usually trade with. They are actually looking for a new partner; our last one didn't hold up so well, if you get my drift."

Oh, great.

"Ah...yes, I see. Where might they be? I'm interested."

"They're right this way. I thought you would be; you seem like the kind of guy who takes advantage of a good opportunity." Hanko winked at Iruka; then turned to look distastefully at Kakashi. "He can stay here...he won't be needed. Not to mention he might put them off the deal..." With his staggering personality, was what went unsaid.

Kakashi snorted loudly. Hanko bristled. Iruka laughed softly. "I really am sorry that you do not like my guard...unfortunately, I do pay him very well, so it would be a waste if he was not with me at all times. I hope you understand."

"Haaaa...yah, yah. It's always you...delicate types that want body guards. You aren't really that fragile, are you?"

Iruka...just...stared. DELICATE? No one in his life had ever called him delicate. It was his hair, wasn't it? He looked feminine, didn't he? That was just great. Not only was he physically unarmed, but not a soul was going to take him seriously because he looked 'delicate'. He was doomed if there was ever any kind of altercation.

"I...do not consider myself to be delicate." Was all he could manage.

"Heh, well. Maybe delicate was the wrong word. Anyway, fine. You can bring your little hound. Follow me."

Iruka would have gone, except he was rooted to the spot. Did he...just call Kakashi 'hound'? It may just be a coincidence, but Kakashi's summons were, famously, hounds. Not only that, Iruka was certain Kakashi's ANBU code name had been Hound. That was one of the perks of working the mission desk...you got to see confidential files not many people laid their eyes on. Not to mention, once an ANBU was retired, his identity wasn't treated as top secret. Iruka, very gently, turned his head to glance at Kakashi over his shoulder. He gave Kakashi what he hoped was a warning look, that didn't actually look any different from a casual glance.

The way Kakashi looked at him, Iruka could see the jounin either got the message, or was thinking the exact same thing. They stared at each other for a second before Iruka turned back and smoothly followed the merchant. It may just be a coincidence, but...as a ninja, you never took that chance.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

When Iruka approached the group Hanko was taking them to, his suspicions sky rocketed. First of all, EVERYONE in the group, save Hanko, had a body guard. Second, each one of their body guards looked unfriendly and intimidating. One of them actually had a classic scar running down his cheek...there was even another ninja there with an eye patch. Either Hanko was truly sick of body guards, or he specifically did not want Kakashi there. Iruka did not know which one it was, but he didn't like the clues he was getting.

"Hey, guys. This is the gentleman I was referring to." He gestured to Iruka, who bowed slightly. There were three of them in total, one woman and two men. They looked far more elegant than Hanko did. Actually, from the demure way they were standing, Hanko totally stood out. He was dressed like them, but his mannerisms were more akin to a typical street vender then a wealthy merchant.

Iruka felt Kakashi take a silent step forward and stand much closer to him then he usually did. Iruka did not react; instead he nodded to each merchant in turn, as they also inclined their heads to him as they were introduced. Having Kakashi stand so close to him made Iruka feel warm and safe...however, at the same time, it made him worried. He didn't know if Kakashi was putting on appearances, or if he actually sensed danger.

"Alright, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get down to business. Shoka, you were talking about a mass weapons trade, right?"

The man named Shoka, who looked a startling amount like a Hyuuga, glanced at Hanko. "Yes...but not that massive. I want to keep the distribution tight."

"Riiiight, right. Keep it...to certain borders, ehh?" Hanko said with a wink. Iruka mentally perked up. No way...were they going to get pertinent information THAT easily?

It seemed not, since after Hanko's statement, Shoka instantly snapped his head to Iruka. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"Mist. I am an off shore trader. I also prefer to stay off this route, and take the Spider roads instead. They are a lot quieter, and...well, I'm sure it won't be to my determent to admit this, but it has quite an untapped client base." Iruka added the last bit as a bit of an incentive for the other merchant to trust him. Give him a little bit of advice...maybe get something back?

Shoka smiled. "Yes, I know a few people who do the same. They seem to like it. I, however, prefer the main road. What are you interested in trading?"

"Well...I was thinking more along the lines of food stuffs and medicines. Weapons I have plenty of." Iruka said with a smile, and he cocked his head slightly to the side, in Kakashi's direction. It worked –the merchants laughed softly.

"We heard...Hanko seems to have quite the opinion of your companion." This time it was Rinjin who spoke, the woman, who was now looking keenly at Kakashi. "That is so unfair...where did you manage to get an attractive body guard? I didn't think they existed."

Iruka resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Honestly, what was wrong with people? Yes, Kakashi was attractive. However, he wasn't the last good looking man on earth...was there a shortage of bachelors in other countries? Why didn't they just stop gawking at him? No wonder he wore a mask all the time...

"Ah, well, it was quite by chance-" Iruka didn't get to finish (which he didn't mind because he had to make most of the story up) because the last man, Shiiba, interrupted.

"-I'm sorry, but Rinjin's hormones are going to have to wait. We have serious business to discuss." He shot the woman a scathing look, and she stuck her nose up at him in return.

Well...this man was rude, but at least he wasn't a pervert. That was a welcome relief.

"Who says it isn't business? I want to buy him!"

Oh. My god...

"Holy-seriously, Rinjin? Are you outta yer mind?" Hanko balked, and Iruka considered him silently. His language changed...maybe that was natural, but now he sounded more crass than ever. "You want THAT guy? He's a freakin animal, honestly."

"Yes...that sounds good." She purred, baring her teeth as she smiled. Iruka wanted to shudder. He turned back to look at Kakashi; the jounin was like a marble statue. Man, he really was good.

"I am sorry, but he has been a very effective and loyal guard; he is not for sale, under any circumstances. Also...I do not OWN him, he is hired." You freakin crazy...Iruka was too polite to finish the sentence, even in his own head.

"Well, advertising your product is no way to deter someone from a sale! Come on, name your price. I-"

"-I have no interests in working for anyone else at this time." Kakashi cut in, his voice very soft and low, technically smooth, still kind of lazy, but very hard. He meant business and he wanted everyone to know it.

Rinjin looked put out.

"Heh, not to mention the fact that he's castrated!"

Rinjin looked totally put off. Kakashi stiffened behind Iruka, and Iruka felt like a complete dickhead. Well...at least no one would be trying to buy him anymore.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They returned to the tent after two hours of talking with the four merchants. Iruka was completely exhausted...it was a constant mental battle to stay in character, analyze everything everyone said, watch for any sudden movements, and also make sure HE didn't say anything stupid. He wanted to sleep for a week.

Iruka collapsed into one of the chairs at the table and sighed loudly, putting his head in his hands. "Sleep...so much want..."

Kakashi chuckled softly, and cast a bunch of new wards around the tent. It already came reinforced, but now that people knew them, it was best to be cautious. When he was finished, he sat down in the chair next to Iruka and regarded him steadily.

"You are doing an incredible job, Iruka-sensei. I am thoroughly impressed."

Iruka's head shot up. He gaped. Then, he smiled brightly. "Thank you, Kakashi-san. I have to say...I know it's dangerous, and it is incredibly important, but...I am having fun on this mission so far." He blushed when he was finished, feeling slightly childish. Missions weren't supposed to be fun, but...well, he really was enjoying himself. He felt useful, every day was more challenging then the last, and he was thoroughly enjoying Kakashi's company –teasing and all.

Kakashi's eye softened, and Iruka could tell he was smiling gently under his mask. "There's no harm in that, sensei. It would be nice if we could enjoy ourselves on missions all the time."

Iruka laughed, then...he felt a little sad. Yes...wouldn't that be nice? Instead of scarring people for the rest of their lives. Or worse; taking their lives. He didn't know if it was because he was so tired, but the thought really affected him. He thought of all the ninja he knew who risked their lives all the time for Konoha.

"Iruka..."

Iruka jumped, snapped out of his depressing thoughts. Kakashi was looking at him with a mischievous, yet lazy looking expression. The one he usually got before he, predictably for once, said something that would make him stutter a thousand times. "Ah...yes, Kakashi-san?"

"Kakashi."

"Uh...Kakashi-"

"Kakashi."

Iruka blushed. "Ah...Kakashi."

"Sadness does not suit your delicate features."

Iruka actually laughed. "Please, for the sake of my headache, let us never refer to that again..." then, he straightened. "Honestly, Kakashi...am I...delicate...?"

"Delicate is not the word I would use, no." He said, flippantly, fully knowing the open ended response would leave Iruka with more questions.

And Iruka tried SO HARD not to take the bait. But...Kakashi...was...SO GOOD at making things tantalizing! " .What ...would ...you ...use...?" the rest of the sentence was said with such a small voice, that Kakashi warmed instantly and took pity on him.

"Gentle."

"Oh..." Iruka sat back and thought about that. Well...gentle was certainly better then delicate. One could be gentle and still be strong. Actually, he thought of his mother as gentle, and she was one of the hero's of his life. Even Tsunade could be gentle. Iruka smiled, very genuinely, at Kakashi. "Thank you."

Kakashi gazed at Iruka with another one of his unreadable expressions, than inclined his head towards the other man. "Please, get some sleep now, Iruka. You look worn out."

Iruka signed deeply, and stood out of his chair. "I think I will. Are you going to bed too, Kakashi-sa-aah...Kakashi?"

Kakashi smiled. "No. Not yet. Please make yourself comfortable and don't mind me."

Iruka did exactly as he was told, and with Kakashi awake and guarding the tent, Iruka easily fell into a deep slumber.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo


	4. Chapter 4

Yes...another one. Haha! This one is pretty short, though. I actually felt I needed to end it where I did. Dunno why. Short and sweet, as they say!

I don't own Naruto!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka blinked his eyes open and rolled over in his lavish, goose down cot. Considering it was supposed to be a quick set up travel bed, it was twice as luxurious as what he slept in at home. He wondered if Tsunade would let him keep it...

Suddenly, Iruka froze. He was staring at Kakashi, who was asleep in the chair in front of him; without his mask on. Facing Iruka.

Oh shit. Oh shit! Iruka closed his eyes and pulled the covers up over his head. Was he not supposed to see that? Would Kakashi be upset?

Wait...that didn't make sense. Kakashi wasn't careless; if his mask was off, then he took it off, and that meant he didn't care if Iruka saw him. Maybe Kakashi just wore his mask in public...it couldn't be comfortable to sleep in. Iruka pulled the blankets down and gazed at Kakashi's face cautiously.

Wow. He really was good looking...

Well, it made sense. If you can make people swoon while covering 70% of your face, you clearly had to look even better then that with the full thing revealed. Unless you had some kind of hideous deformity (he had heard that rumour about Kakashi, actually).

Iruka realized he was staring and looked away with a blush. Man; that was stupid. Kakashi was an actual shinobi who went on missions where he basically slept awake. If Iruka stared too long Kakashi would notice somehow; and would most DEFINITELY never let him hear the end of it.

Iruka decided to be polite and not give himself another opportunity to ogle a superior while he was sleeping. He, not silently, threw his covers aside and stepped out of his bed. Kakashi, as he thought, opened his eyes and turned his head towards Iruka. He smiled.

"Good morning, Iruka. Sleep well?"

Iruka froze. Kakashi's face was SO expressive. His smile lit up the rest of his features. It was actually kind of stunning.

"Ah...ah, yes! Actually, I did. This bed is even better than mine. Kakashi, why didn't you use yours? That chair can't be comfortable..."

Kakashi shrugged, sat up, and stretched. Bones popped all over the place. "Maa...can't get too comfortable. I have to be alert."

"Yes..." Well, now Iruka felt like shit. Here he was, slumbering away without a care in the world, and Kakashi was keeping guard in a chair all night. Kakashi noticed Iruka's troubled expression and smiled again.

"Come on, Iruka. I told you to go to sleep. Besides, you're the one who has been doing all the work this mission; it was the least I could do. And, I AM the body guard." He added with a wink. Iruka actually felt butterflies. Oh, man...Kakashi needed to put his mask back on.

"Ka-Kakashi, that's not true." Iruka blushed a little at his stutter, but powered through with the hopes that it wouldn't be noticeable. "This mission wouldn't be possible without you."

Kakashi regarded him for a moment. His expression was completely neutral.

"Yah, you're right. You couldn't possibly do it alone. It is a good thing I'm here, isn't it?"

Iruka hesitated, not quite sure how to respond to that. With the tone Kakashi used, he couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. "Ah...yes. Well, of course. You are an excellent leader; and you have the power to defeat all our enemies."

Kakashi stood then, unexpectedly fast, which threw Iruka off his groundings even further. The jounin walked towards his partner, who stayed perfectly still standing next to his bed.

"Do I?"

"Uhhhhh..." Iruka suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Was he saying something wrong? Or was Kakashi just teasing him again? "Well, yes...all the ones I've seen so far, anyway..."

Kakashi stopped directly in front of Iruka, who had to crane his head up slightly to look at Kakashi's face. His...ridiculously good looking face. A face that was boring into Iruka's, with an expression Iruka could not possibly describe, but it required all of his features and was hard, soft, predatory and protective all at once. Oh man...oh man, keep your cool, Iruka. You are a ninja. You are a-

"What do you think would happen if I wasn't here, Iruka?"

The chuunin's eyes hardened at that. Was Kakashi just trying to get him to admit how feeble he was? That sure as hell wasn't happening. "I don't know –they would assign another Jounin to this mission, surely." He snapped, not appreciating the turn the conversation had taken.

"Exactly. I am as expendable as anyone else."

Iruka's jaw dropped. Not what he was expecting...as usual.

"Kakashi. No one is expendable; most certainly not you. I don't think Tsunade thinks that way, and neither does anyone else."

"I am a shinobi, and shinobi are expendable."

Iruka squared his shoulders. This was probably a thought most warriors had while they were out there, dying for their village; that they were just pawns grown for a cause. He would try clear that thought from Kakashi's mind right here.

"Am I expendable, Kakashi?"

The jounin froze. His face, for a second, displayed his shock at Iruka's counter. He was clearly not expecting it, which made Iruka cheer inside –FINALLY, one for him! However, as quickly as the expression came, it was gone. He stood perfectly still for a moment, with his blank canvass facial expression.

"No."

"Well...I am a shinobi. So, going by your logic, I am also expendable. I could walk outside that tent, give myself up, never return to the village and no one would care."

Kakashi took a step back. "That isn't the same."

"Why? If anything, I am far more expendable than you are. How much does it really take to be a school teacher? How many chuunin are there, compared to talented jounin?" Iruka crossed his arms. "If it were to come down to it, and one of us had to die; it should be me."

"STOP."

Iruka took a step back, his eyes wide. He had never heard Kakashi raise his voice...

"I have the right to choose whether to live or die; don't you ever decide for me. Especially not based on whatever status I have been crowned by the village." And with that, he cast his hand signs and disappeared.

Iruka stood in the empty tent, shaking slightly with emotion. The conversation itself had been slightly intense...but he wasn't expecting Kakashi to react like that. He had managed, in such a short time, to press one of Kakashi's few buttons.

Wayyyy to go Iruukaaaa...

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Half an hour later, Kakashi returned with a -poof-. Iruka looked up from the table where he was offhandedly scrawling notes on the progress of the mission and information he'd gathered.

Kakashi's mask was back up but, to Iruka's surprise, he looked slightly bashful. He was also carrying food, which was good because Iruka was actually starting to get really hungry.

"Yo. Breakfast?"

Iruka smiled and cleared some space on the table. "Yes, please. I'm starving."

Kakashi approached and set the food down, then took his seat across from Iruka. To the chuunin's surprise, Kakashi pulled his mask down casually and reached for his portion. Iruka couldn't help himself, he had to ask.

"Kakashi...do you take your mask off often?"

The jounin blinked over at Iruka. He paused a moment, as if deciding how to answer (or whether or not to make it miserable for Iruka), then proceeded. "Not really in public...but when I'm at home, yes. Can you imagine what my face would look like if I never took it off? It would be a shrivelled, wrinkled mess."

To illustrate what he meant, Kakashi grabbed the top and bottom of his cheeks with his hands and squished his entire face up. "Thseee? Like diss."

Iruka...could not believe it. He burst out laughing, dropping his chop sticks in the process. Not only did he actually look hilarious, but it was just SO out of character for Kakashi that the shock value added that much more.

"HAHAHAHA...Oh...I can't...HAHAHA...H-Help...Can't...breathe..."

Kakashi released his face and grinned openly at the chuunin. "It isn't very nice to laugh at people's misfortunes, Iruka. Someone out there could look like that."

Iruka could not control himself for a full minute. When he finally stopped laughing, he was clutching his sides and gasping for breath. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed that hard. Kakashi just...he just kept mixing it up. Iruka never knew what he was going to do. He decided he actually kind of liked it.

"Oh...oh, my...I thought I was gonna die...what a way to go." Iruka took one last deep inhale and then turned back to the jounin, wiping a tear from his eye. Kakashi was smiling affectionately at the chuunin, and with his animated facial expressions, it really was something. His smile reached his eyes and filled them with emotion, which Iruka supposed was how he could be so expressive while wearing a mask. Iruka was so caught up in the moment that he didn't stop to think before he exclaimed:

"You have such a beautiful smile!"

Iruka froze. He gaped. He stuttered.

Oh my god. Did he say that out loud!? UGGHHH!

Kakashi's face changed expressions instantly. It was like it popped from one to the other. He went from surprised, to blank, and then, he smiled again. His smile was still as genuine as ever.

"Thank you, Iruka." He said softly, and then proceeded to eat his breakfast. Iruka turned away, his face ILLUMINATED with an almost neon red, and busied himself with his breakfast as well. Kakashi really should keep his mask on...but, at least the tension was completely gone.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo


	5. Chapter 5

Iruka and Kakashi spent the rest of the morning discussing the situation with their mission. They both agreed that Hanko had acted suspicious the day before, especially since he seemed to be so different from his supposed comrades. Whatever Hanko was up to, they didn't think the rest of his party was part of it. Usually, when people were plotting together and all had the same outcome in mind, they worked on the same wavelength. However, Hanko's trading partners shot down his suggestions far too often, and he even got into a fight with Shoka (the Hyuuga looking one) over where it was best to conduct the deals. Either they were extremely gifted at covering their tracks, or they were indeed who they said they were.

The two pooled together their intel thus far. Iruka had gotten a really good lead with Rinjin the other day, since the woman had alluded to letting Iruka in on a deal that would profit them and potentially ruin others who could get in their way in the future. Unfortunately, this required Iruka to spend more time with the feisty merchant, a thought he wasn't too keen on since she kind of made him nervous.

There was something else, too; Shoka obviously had vital information they sorely needed. They were going to have to make some revisions to Kakashi's "character" so he could wheedle down the dark haired man while Iruka worked Rinjin. The problem was that Kakashi had been the most antisocial creature at the camp. Iruka wasn't quite sure how the Jounin was going to pull off smooth talking someone like Shoka at this point, but Kakashi was confident and Iruka trusted him. This WAS Kakashi after all–he tended to pull off whatever he pretty set his mind to.

Once the details of their plans were settled, Iruka set himself to getting ready for the day. Kakashi just washed himself with a water justu and was ready to go. The chuunin, however, had to sport an entirely different outfit if he wanted to continue his ploy of wealthy merchant. Apparently wearing the same extremely expensive outfit two days in a row was out of the question. Imagine that.

It took the school teacher twenty minutes to arrange himself, which was far longer than he ever imagined he would take putting clothes on. He wore deep red traditional garments, the haori decorated with an intricate gold dragon, spitting swirling red flames all over his back.

He felt completely ridiculous. He'd seen feudal lords dressed this way...and who the hell was he?

Iruka turned to Kakashi; stiff and obviously uncomfortable. "I'm ready."

Kakashi didn't bother to hide his amusement. "Red looks good on you."

"Thanks." Iruka replied flatly. He was in a mood now...for no reason. That also bothered him.

Kakashi smirked under his mask. Iruka had no idea how adorable he was when he was ruffled. "You look pretentious; it's perfect."

"..."

Kakashi laughed. "You won't feel so bad when you see how everyone else is dressed."

Iruka actually perked up at that. "Like me?"

"Some of them have three more layers."

"GET OUT!"

Kakashi smiled. "Serious."

Iruka relaxed. That did make him feel better. "Alright. I'll stop sulking now...let's get on with it."

As soon as the two exited the tent, Hanko ran up to them.

"Hey! Perfect timing!"

Iruka and Kakashi glanced at each other. Oh yah. Not suspicious at all.

"Good afternoon, Hanko. Funny how you keep running into us." Iruka replied smoothly, his most pleasant smile firmly in place.

Hanko actually looked perturbed. "Ah...yah, right? Well, my tent IS right next to yours, so it makes sense."

The shinobi both turned to look at the same time. There was a tent set up a fair distance from theirs, but mostly because it was twice the size and had elaborate fences and shrubbery set up around it. Iruka addressed Hanko. "Is that yours?"

"Yup! Pretty nice, eh?"

"Ah...yes. It is very becoming." Iruka definitely felt better about his outfit now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Listening to Hanko blab on about the atrocious amount of money he made on a daily basis was almost enough to convince Iruka that the merchant had exhausted his use for this lifetime and needed to pass on into oblivion. Iruka was the least murderous shinobi he knew, yet he felt a somewhat insistent urge to kill Hanko. The chuunin wondered how the merchant could possibly make a good enough impression on anyone to get them to spend copious amounts of money on his merchandise since Iruka could barely stand him for ten minutes.

"Well, here we are; the rest of the bunch are over there. We only have half an hour to talk, as everyone is expected to pack up and start their journey to the convention just after lunch time."

Oh shit. Iruka had totally forgotten about that. Kakashi said he had transportation ready for them, so maybe they were all set regardless.

The trio of merchants turned to look at Iruka and the others as they heard Hanko speak. They were lazing around a small tea set up, just finishing what looked like brunch or an awkwardly late breakfast. Iruka mentally committed himself to getting something important out of them before the day was over, or he'd find some way to punish himself for it. He felt like they had barely accomplished anything so far.

After some light pleasantries were exchanged, Iruka took a seat next to Rinjin who, like he expected, looked him over with an incredibly invasive penetrating stare. "Well...hello there." She purred. "You look pretty."

PRETTY? He was going to have to really consider getting a haircut.

He wanted to reply in a neutral way that wouldn't egg her on; except that he just swore to himself he would get valuable intel. Obviously...the way to do that was to flirt with her. Ugh. No...he didn't want to.

_Do it, Iruka. You know it's the only way_.

NO. Gross!

_Iruka. You're a shinobi; you're supposed to do what you can for your village._

...But...

_Do it!_

I am not a super elite undercover shinobi, damnit. I can't just detach and woo some random woman I'm not attracted to. What exactly am I supposed to say?

_Just fluff her ego and give her sexy eyes._

...Oh. Okay...

Iruka realized he had a very unhelpful inner voice.

Well, he would just have to wing it. The chuunin turned to Rinjin, gazing at her in a way he imagined he would if she was someone he cared about deeply and felt that irresistible magnetism towards. Rinjin's hand actually popped to her mouth and she moved back in slight surprise at the intense look she received.

"You shouldn't say those kinds of things to me if you value your dignity, Rinjin."

Okay, maybe that was a little too 'smutty romance novel'. Or...maybe not. Rinjin was instantly at his side, her feral grin contrasting the glazed over, soft look in her eyes. "Come on, you know I have no dignity..." she purred as she caressed his arm. Something caught Iruka's attention at the corner of his eye and he turned his head slightly; Kakashi was staring at him in utter disbelief.

"Well...I guess anything goes with you then, doesn't it?" Iruka replied, doing his best 'I'm super cool and also really suave' voice.

Rinjin actually threw her leg over Iruka's, and the chuunin was astronomically proud of himself for not reacting what-so-ever. Because really, he wanted to yelp and toss her a hundred yards away, then dash forever in the other direction. "You...have _no_ idea, Daddy..." she giggled.

DADDY? Ugggghhhhhhh...

"Let's get out of here." She growled, grabbing Iruka's arm and hauling him up with a surprising strength that slightly worried Iruka.

Kakashi stood up immediately. Rinjin didn't miss a beat. "Hmm...you can watch if you like."

Kakashi sat back down again.

Iruka glanced at his partner, who was gazing at him steadily. He looked worried. He also looked angry. Iruka shot him a quick look that he hoped came across as "don't worry about me". But maybe also "please don't let her rape me."

Within mere moments she had dragged Iruka behind the closest tent (which was actually fairly close) and had pressed him up against the side of it (which was surprisingly sturdy for a tent...).

"Now...I've been looking for a business partner who can also double as my play thing. Seeing as you're interested in both...this arrangement should work for you."

Okay. This COULD go in a great direction, but Iruka was absolutely not agreeing to have casual sex with this crazy face bimbo. He didn't even know why he disliked her so much...there were a lot of super pervy people he actually admired (technically one of them was Kakashi) but for some reason she rubbed him the wrong way (this time, literally).

"Rinjin...as much as I would love to-" 'engage in intercourse with you?' that probably wouldn't cut it "-toss you over the side of that wagon and fuck you so hard you'll be bed ridden for a week, I have had previous experiences being involved with people I work with and they all ended badly. So, we would have to wait until after the deal for that."

Man, Iruka was spending WAY too much time around Kakashi. Actually...no. He'd heard Genma talk like that on numerous occasions. Kakashi had never actually said anything raunchy to him or around him, ever. That was interesting, considering he always had his nose in a dirty novel...

Rinjin pouted and looked completely put out. "Aww! Come ON! That defeats the purpose." She sighed. "Alright, fine...I get it. But, I get to have SOME sugar in the meantime."

Iruka perked up internally. Oh wait, this could be working. "Let's hear what the deal is first. I like to know what I'm getting into."

Rinjin laughed. "Oh...you'll get to know me just fine, haha!"

Eww.

She sighed. "Fine, fine. Actually...I think you'll really love it. We're gonna make a FORTUNE!" She leaned in close, lowering her voice. "But first...I want to have a little taste of my merchandise."

Oh...Iruka supposed that meant him. Well...he's come this far. All those present and future children of Konoha better freakin' appreciate this. "Of course...help yourself."

With that, she grabbed the back of Iruka's head, wedged her thigh in between his legs and pressed her lips to his so hard their teeth collided. Then she started sliding around on his lips like she was trying to do a figure eight with her entire head. It was definitely the most awkward, horrible kiss Iruka had ever had and he REALLY REALLY hoped Konoha appreciated this.

He also hoped Kakashi and the other jounin got paid properly for putting up with this kind of shit...imagine what those poor souls had gone through over the course of their careers.

AT LAST, she broke away, panting for some reason with a glazed over look in her eye like she'd just had the absolute time of her life. "Oh wow...you are a GREAT kisser."

Uhhhh...

"That was...hot..." Iruka was suddenly having trouble lying to Rinjin about her appeal; probably because he wanted to throw up violently. "Now...please, you've got me all excited about this plan that will get us rich..."

"Are you sure that's what's got you excited?" She preened, leaning in close again.

YES DAMNIT!

"Well...among other things."

She laughed, and played with a strand of his hair. "Alright, we'll get down to BUSINESS, business. Basically, we've got this fool proof plan to cut Konoha out of the goods trade, potentially forever. And, since I know you trade off shore in Mist, you'll know that they hog the port roads directly outside of our country and beyond, almost to Sand: With them out of the picture, our business with QUARDOUPLE!" She cackled, gripping Iruka's arms.

Iruka had to use every ounce of self control he had NOT to back hand her with all his strength. He could not imagine ever hitting a civilian woman, especially if she wasn't attacking him, but this piece of trash did not deserve that consideration. She obviously had no soul.

"Ah. That sounds too good to be true, Rinjin. How would you pull something like that off?"

"Oh! We've found the PERFECT way!" The fact that Rinjin was SO excited about dooming an entire village full of innocent people almost made Iruka toss her and walk away. "At the last conference, we noticed a lot of merchants were having a hard time with their businesses; EXCEPT the Konoha ones. Actually, all of Fire country seems to be doing much better than anyone else, as USUAL. They seem to hog everything all the time; and they act like hot shots with their supposed super star elite shinobi. People are actually pretty bitter. So...it didn't take much convincing to get them to comply. We're basically going to get as many merchants together and then completely boycott them. It's amazing what you can do with the right following."

Iruka's eyes widened. He couldn't keep the shock from his features. They were ACTUALLY going to do it? Because they were petty? And...jealous? That was their reason for starving a village?

Rinjin misread Iruka's expression and cackled again. "I know, right? Never would have thought it was possible. But we ALMOST have enough people to do it. After they're out of the picture, ALL our lives will be MUCH easier. " She leaned in again for another kiss, as she whispered "What do you say..."

Iruka jerked his head to the side and Rinjin met thin air. He was just FURIOUS. He knew he needed to calm down, because blowing their cover meant blowing it for his village, and he would never risk that. He just needed a moment.

Rinjin reeled back. "Hey! What gives?"

Iruka took a deep breath, then smiled gently at Rinjin. "I apologize...you surprised me. I was busy processing what you were saying, and I think it sounds amazing. Imagine what will become of Mist with all the extra income."

Rinjin laughed. "Exactly! And us! Think of how rich we'll be!"

Iruka, once again, struggled to control himself. She was ALREADY rich...how much more did she need?

"Rinjin, will all of the merchants who are in on this operation be at the conference?"

"Oh, yes! That's why we're here. We're going to finalize our plans."

"There's one thing, though...you mentioned the 'elite' shinobi of Konoha. Don't you think they'd retaliate?"

Rinjin snickered. "Sure, but we'll have enough forces to keep them at bay. Besides...how long do you think they can fight with dwindling supplies?"

So they wanted to start a war; a dirty war, where they starve out their enemies before the battle even begins. He should murder her now...

"RINJIN!"

They both turned, surprised. Iruka had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't been paying attention. Shoka stood there, with Hanko...and Kakashi. Who was starting at him with an odd look on his face.

"Rinjin, we're going to be late packing up and leaving. Seriously, can't you concentrate for ten minutes?" Shoka chided, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Rinjin just kind of...ho hummed and stepped away from Iruka, clearly proud of herself. Iruka stayed plastered against the tent and kind of wished he was somewhere else.

"If you'll excuse us; I'm sure we'll be seeing you on the road." With that, Shoka turned and walked away, Rinjin in toe. She turned around, winked at Iruka and blew him a kiss. Iruka had JUST enough resolve left to smile back at her before she turned away again. He sighed deeply when they were out of earshot.

"Ka-ah...Kyto. Come here, please."

Kakashi did as he was told, and stood next to Iruka silently. The chuunin turned and looked into Kakashi's eyes with such deep sadness the jounin dropped his cold exterior, his eyes softening in concern. He reached out and placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder.

"What happened?"

Iruka sighed again. "Please take me back to the tent."

Kakashi complied.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

As soon as they were back Iruka began to pace around the tent in frustration. "Rinjin spilled a lot of info...she says they're planning on rallying other merchants, mainly from Mist it seems, to boycott Konoha because they're bitter our traders seem to be faring better." He stopped, spinning to face Kakashi. "I don't understand HOW it would be possible, since this would obviously start a war, and it just seems like it's the merchants who are involved. There's no WAY they have enough power to fight us, and our allies. If the officials of these villages and countries don't want war, they could publically denounce them and leave them to their deaths; or worse, as a token of friendship to the countries being wronged, they could actually send out their own shinobi to fight them themselves."

Kakashi just watched Iruka vent his fury in silence, although inside he was fuming himself.

"And the nerve...because they want to be MORE RICH? Being rich isn't good enough? I just...I just don't understand..." Finally, he collapsed into a chair and hung his head. "I'll never understand how people can be so horrible."

Kakashi took this as the time to approach the chuunin. He sat down beside him, hooked his fingers under his chin and gently raised his head. Iruka blushed faintly and blinked up at Kakashi, who was smiling at him reassuringly, his eye in its usual happy arch.

"We'll get them, Iruka. We have the upper hand now. I'll get this information to Konoha immediately."

Iruka's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait...you will?"

"Yes." Kakashi stood and walked over to his pack, fishing out a scroll. "I would send my ninken, but this information is incredibly valuable. I have to go myself."

Iruka tried to ignore the twisting in his gut at the thought of Kakashi leaving. "They'll find it strange that you're gone...ah, will you leave a shadow clone?"

Kakashi smirked at Iruka as he walked back to the table. "That's the plan. That way, you'll still have someone guarding you." He smiled down at Iruka softly. "I don't trust a single person at this camp, most specifically the ones we've been associating with. I'd never leave you alone with them."

Iruka blushed even further. "Kakashi...please, you don't have to worry about me."

"Of course I do." Kakashi's tone turned serious...but then, he smiled his happy go lucky smile. "If I leave you alone too long, who knows what Rinjin will do to you."

Aaaaand Iruka was close to pass out level blood collection in his entire face area. "Oh...god"

At the horror in Iruka's face, Kakashi laughed out loud. "What? You didn't enjoy taking her dignity?"

"Kakashi!" Iruka blurt out, hands covering his face. Oh GOD...did he see the kiss? He'd just die of mortification of he did. "You...you didn't...did you?" Iruka peeked out from under his hands. Kakashi was just loving every second of this, and not even trying to hide it.

The jounin laughed again, and advanced on Iruka, purposefully looking predatory. "Did I what, sensei? What did you do to that poor, innocent girl behind that tent? Wouldn't your students be shocked."

Iruka actually wanted to vomit remembering the kiss. His skin color went from red to an alarming green hue. "I don't want to talk about it..."

Iruka did not realize how expressive HIS face was. He looked positively miserable, and Kakashi just could not stop laughing. "Oh, you didn't enjoy it? You sure had me fooled, sensei. I almost fell prey to your charms myself, you were so smooth."

Well, that changed the tone of Iruka's face again. He was positively flaming now. "K-K-Kakashi!" The thought of Kakashi being enticed by anything he said warmed his body all over and made his gut twist. He knew Kakashi was just joking; the thought of Iruka charming the jounin was just outlandish. However, his body didn't seem to agree with his minds sound logic.

"I-...I'm so embarrassed." He covered his face again. He was never going to live this down. "It's just, I told myself I would be productive today, and I didn't think we'd get anything out of her unless I...well, appealed to her on her level." He slowly opened his hands and looked at Kakashi pleadingly. He really didn't want the jounin to judge him. He also REALLY wanted him to know he did NOT enjoy himself.

"BUT! It was HORRIBLE! She...UGH! For someone who acts so sexual, she is the WORST kisser. I mean...it was like..." Iruka made all kinds of hand gestures. "It was like...when dogs jump up into your lap and slobber all over your face because they haven't seen you all day. I don't understand how she thinks that's attractive..."

Kakashi's eye flew open, and in the next moment, he was collapsed into the nearest chair and absolutely beside himself with laughter. He clutched his sides and bent forward, his shoulders shaking. He could not believe Iruka. The school teacher just kept surprising him.

Iruka took a moment to register that Kakashi thought his situation was hilarious, and he slowly started to relax. Then, because the jounin's laughter was so contagious, Iruka began to laugh as well. It really WAS funny, in hind sight...

The two ninja laughed for a minute straight before they finally relaxed, sighing and wiping tears from their eyes. Iruka couldn't believe how much he was laughing on this mission. It made him feel a little guilty, as the seriousness of the situation was now more evident than ever, but Kakashi...he just made everything fun.

"Kakashi, really...did I do the right thing?" He asked, his voice small. It seemed like a stupid question considering the intel he'd gathered and Kakashi's reaction to his story; but Kakashi was known for not following the rules and doing his own thing, and Iruka had no idea what was proper 'mission' etiquette when it came to undercover operations.

The jounin calmed down instantly, and regarded Iruka with that unidentifiable expression he'd been seeing less and less of. He took a moment, then removed his mask and stood up, walking over to the chuunin wordlessly. Kakashi crouched down in front of Iruka, leaning forward and resting his arm over the chuunin's legs. Iruka felt his body tingle where Kakashi touched him.

"Of course you did." He said softly, his face serious, eyes staring directly into Iruka's. Iruka felt his throat constrict. He hoped he wouldn't have to speak for the next few moments because the combination of Kakashi being so close, touching him and not wearing his mask was having an effect on the chuunin that he was sure would lead to embarrassment.

"I know that wasn't your style, Iruka, and that's why it's so commendable. Everyone knows how much you care about the village, and all the people in it." His expression softened. His eyes were so warm Iruka felt himself melting into his seat. "You completed a very important part of our mission today, all by yourself. You're the star here, not me."

Iruka REALLY wanted to say something, but absolutely could not. He just nodded mutely, hoping it would look like he had resolved himself to not being ashamed, and not that he was so riled up he didn't trust himself to speak. Kakashi continued.

"I'm kind of a dick; don't let my teasing get to you. You're an excellent shinobi, Iruka. I..." Kakashi actually faltered. He laughed, his usual friendly smile in place. "I often have a hard time saying what I really mean. I guess I'm not used to...expressing myself; which is my own fault."

Iruka's jaw dropped. Kakashi must really trust him to be so intimate with him. That made Iruka blush harder, which he didn't think was possible. How was he still conscious?

Kakashi looked like he'd resolved himself to something. His smile broadened, his whole face illuminating with friendliness. "I really like you, Iruka."

Well, that did it. Iruka just gaped like a friggen idiot. Kakashi was patient, though. He sat there, smile unwavering, while Iruka collected himself.

"K-Kaka-ehem." Okay. Come on, man. You're an adult. "Ah...Kakashi. Thank you...for everything you said. You really are very kind; you're not a...dick." Iruka laughed. Kakashi could be so crass for such an elite. "I really like you, too." He said, with way more conviction then he thought he'd be able to muster. "It has been my great pleasure working with you so far. I think you're amazing."

Okay...that last part probably wasn't necessary, and Iruka inflamed once again. He hadn't meant to say it, it just kind of spilled out of him. Kakashi seemed like he wasn't expecting it too, because his whole face seemed to shut up like window shutters. Iruka stiffened...oh shit. He hoped he hadn't taken it too far. He was such a dolt...

"I mean-uh...!"

"Thank you."

Iruka clamped his mouth shut. Kakashi continued to look at him with The Unreadable Expression, which was twice as powerful when his mask was down. Iruka felt like he was pinned to the chair, his entire soul up for inspection. He couldn't believe the effect Kakashi had on him...

After a moment, Kakashi smiled once more, but it didn't have the same warmth it did before. Iruka deflated. The jounin noticed Iruka's put out expression and felt guilty. He gently touched the chuunin's cheek, smiled at him and stood up. "Iruka, I have to go."

"OH! RIGHT!" Iruka actually leaped out of his chair, nearly sending it flying. Kakashi jumped back, surprised. "Crap! How could I forget about the village!"

Kakashi stared; then laughed affectionately. "Iruka, it's only been a couple of minutes."

"...Oh." Really? It had felt like they were talking for an eternity.

Kakashi smiled, and this time, the warmth was back. "It should only take me a couple of hours to reach the village from here, so I shouldn't be too long. Do not leave my clones side, Iruka. Especially, do not leave him for Rinjin. She'll probably try and coerce you away again; do whatever you can to avoid her. If you get into trouble, my clone should be enough to deal with whatever enemy is here. But...all it takes is one hit to dispel it."

Iruka nodded resolutely. "Yes, I understand Kakashi. I'm a lot more concerned about you, though...if someone sees you..."

Kakashi was suddenly in front of Iruka again. "No one is going to see me. These people are complete jokes –the security around here is laughable. No one can touch me."

Iruka tried to hide his smile at Kakashi's pride in himself. This was a known fact, though –Kakashi knew how good he was and had no problems showing it.

"Iruka, worry about yourself. You're the one who is in the most danger. Promise not to leave my clone."

Iruka heart swelled at the concern and protectiveness Kakashi was openly showing him. He felt himself warm all over again. Everything began to tingle...Kakashi's proximity to him felt like heat waves between their bodies.

"I promise, Kakashi..."

Kakashi didn't smile. He didn't seem to react. He just stared at Iruka, and Iruka stared back. Suddenly Iruka's senses told him something, and he looked down. Kakashi's hand was hovering near the chuunin's side, like he was being indecisive about what to do with it. The jounin dropped his arm as soon as Iruka noticed it, and then he smiled and stepped back.

"Good. I won't meet up with you until you're at the convention –they aren't SO pathetic that they won't notice me slipping into the caravan when I'm already in there with you."

Iruka felt his stomach drop. Oh...he hadn't thought of that. He'd be gone that long?

Oh, stop it, Iruka!

"Yes...that makes sense. Be safe, please, Kakashi. Good luck."

Kakashi pulled up his mask and winked at Iruka. Then, he turned, and left the tent.

Iruka watched him go, happy the village was getting vital information, but also WAY too upset that Kakashi was leaving. This worried him; he should NOT be developing feelings for Kakashi, it was just bad news. Even though Kakashi had been acting...well, surprisingly affectionate towards the chuunin, it didn't mean anything. He couldn't imagine Kakashi ever being interested in him; his kindness was just because he was kind to all his comrades.

Iruka sighed. He was able to attest the strong effect Kakashi had on him to the general ease with which he normally became flustered. He didn't know why he reddened so easily; it was just his personality. He was bashful. Kakashi had always been able to get a reaction out of him because he always felt a bit of awe being in his presence.

However...after today, it was impossible to ignore it. He was, most definitely, attracted to him. And with how his heart felt tight at the thought of Kakashi racing back to Konoha by himself...it was more than attraction. He was such a fool...and now he had a long caravan ride by himself to think about what a fool he was. Oh, and avoid getting discovered, captured, attacked, or worse; molested by Rinjin.

But no, Iruka kept forgetting he had the jounin's clone; that was basically Kakashi. They had the same personalities, and everything the clone experienced, Kakashi would learn as well. Wait...speaking of clone, Kakashi hadn't-

"Yo."

"AHHH!"

Iruka leapt a foot into the air and jumped back. There was a clone standing RIGHT next to him, his eye smile in place, flashing Iruka the peace sign.

"But...how...when..."

The clone shrugged. "Because I'm Kakashi."

Yup. Same thing.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

OKAY! So, the only reason I ever would have thought to put the "I really like you" in here was because Kakashi actually said that in the anime/manga. Not to Iruka, though, but to Naruto. It was so cute, LOL. Anyway, suddenly I remembered that when I was writing that scene and threw it in there. It SEEMS out of character, but from what i've seen, he's a really blunt, honest guy. If he wants to tell you something, he just says it. Unless he WANTS to mess with your head, which he also seems to do often.

Someone mentioned in the reviews; Kakashi sure is a tease. Ohh yah, he is. He does it on purpose sometimes just to see Iruka's reaction, but most of the time, it's just the way he assesses him. I think of Kakashi like a cat being introduced to a foreign object. They kinda circle it, then move in, pat it, jump back, wait to see if it attacks. If it doesn't, jump in again, paw it, move back; until they're confident they've got it down. That's kind of the way I see him handling Iruka.

Hope you enjoyed!

I DONT OWN NARUTO! :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note**: Thank you, everyone, for your reviews. I really appreciate them, and it keeps me writing. And I do mean ALL of them.

I want to touch on something someone said in a review, about their codenames. No, they do not use their codenames in the tent/hotel room because the tent was set up with heavy wards on it, and Kakashi even added a light genjutsu so that no one could hear anything they were saying from the outside of the tent (maybe I should have gone into more detail about that? I didn't want to burden the fic with unnecessary info). They have to discuss their mission regardless, which is also top secret, so using their codenames while discussing discriminating information is a waste of effort on their part.

Also, I must admit, I'm pulling the 'artistic license' card on this one, too. I really want this story to focus on Kakashi and Iruka's development together, and I figured it would take away from their interactions with one another if they were calling themselves "Myuki" and "Kyto" throughout the entire fic. Which is now pushing 6 chapters, haha.

Anyway, thanks for your reviews, I will try to watch out for slip ups with that! I may have done it in chapter 5...too lazy to go back and check :D

DONT OWN NARUTO! (Not sure how many times I'm supposed to say that.)

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka and Clone Kakashi packed up the few things they had in the tent and headed outside. Iruka prayed the other merchants would leave him alone for the duration of the trip. He REALLY didn't want to have to deal with Rinjin again today; once was more than enough.

Iruka found the clone really was like having Kakashi there. They enjoyed the same companionable silence, the same friendly banter, and the same intuitive team work.

The chuunin regarded their tent with confusion. How the hell were they supposed to pack this thing? Did merchants pack their own tents? Iruka glanced around, and concentrated for a moment. No one was there, and there were no chakra's nearby.

"Ah, Kyto...what do we do about our humble abode?" Iruka asked, gesturing to the tent. Kakashi waved it off.

"The staff who work the convention are here; they pack everything up for us." Kakashi leaned in, and whispered mischievously. " We're rich and lazy; don't let anyone see you lifting a finger."

Iruka blinked. "Wait. Staff...do we have to pay to attend the conference?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. It isn't cheap, either. But...we get perks once we're there."

"Oh?" Iruka felt horrible about having 'perks' on the village dime, but he was curious.

"Free food, servants, hot springs –"

"-hot springs?" Oh well, couldn't let the money go to waste, now could they? Iruka was DEFINITELY visiting the hot springs.

Kakashi smirked. "I see you're a fan?"

Iruka blushed. "Ah...yes. Going to hot springs is one of my favourite things to do."

Kakashi slung their pack over his arm. "Well, as soon as we get settled, we'll head over to them. It sounds pretty good to me, too."

Iruka beamed. "Thank you! I can't wait!" Ah, hot springs. Wait.

Hot springs means naked.

Naked with Kakashi...

Kakashi naked.

Oh my. This could be bad.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo

Clone Kakashi produced a carrier from a scroll in his pack. It was pretty fancy looking...yet another guilty twinge for Iruka. He didn't know why he felt guilty, it's not like someone bought it for HIM. They bought it for the mission. So it was imperative he didn't screw it up.

They loaded the carrier (or, Kakashi did. Iruka wasn't allowed to help) and then paused awkwardly outside of it.

Uhh. Who was going to carry them?

As if hearing their thoughts, servants appeared out of the woodwork and arranged themselves beside the handles. Iruka and Kakashi exchanged glances. People weren't seriously going to cart their sorry asses all the way to the convention, were they?

They were. A couple minutes into their travels, Iruka muttered. "I feel completely ridiculous."

Kakashi sighed. "It is a little weird being in here..." He leaned in, covering one side of his mouth with his hand, whispering. "We won't need them on the way back, at least."

Iruka laughed. "Yes. That is true, "Kyto"."

"MYUKI!"

Iruka jumped. Who the hell...

He looked out of his window. It was Rinjin. She was leaning out of the window of her carrier, waving to Iruka. "See you sooooon." She called, blew him another kiss, and then her team of servants carted her off. Iruka leaned back into his seat and shot Kakashi a tortured look.

"Kill me."

Kakashi burst out laughing.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They arrived at the convention after three hours of travel. Iruka's entire lower half was asleep –he wasn't used to sitting for such a long time. Clone Kakashi looked just as uncomfortable, especially since he was taller. Although...Iruka was pretty sure shadow clones didn't necessarily feel pain. So Kakashi LOOKED uncomfortable, but probably wasn't ACTUALLY uncomfortable.

Right, yah.

Anyway, Iruka was starting to feel bad for actual Kakashi. Two hours to Konoha (if he wasn't waylaid) and then 5 hours of travel from Konoha to the convention. Iruka was sure Kakashi had run for longer than that, but he still felt bad. He hoped the jounin was safe.

His gut twisted at the thought of anything happening to him.

Man...he really was in trouble; he cared WAY too much.

Awkwardly, their 'team' of servants followed them around even after they'd arrived and Clone Kakashi had scrolled up their carrier. Iruka supposed they were for keeps for the duration of the convention; that was actually kind of bad. They didn't need any potential ears to eaves drop on their top secret dialogue.

They arrived at the convention building and were shown to their room. When Iruka stepped inside, he almost smacked into the doorframe, he was so distracted by the room. It was incredibly luxurious. There was a MASSIVE bed, covered with what was definitely a rare 'Giant Fire Goose' feather filled duvet. Those things were like...the same price as his apartment.

Seriously.

Iruka and Kakashi walked around the room, checking everything out. Well, Iruka was actually checking out the room and Kakashi was checking it for traps, setting up wards and conducting other shinobi business. Once they were both done, they sat down on the bed.

Oh wait. There was only one bed. Well. Iruka hoped he didn't snore...or kick. Or...move at all.

Iruka flopped backwards, lying on his back on the bed with a sigh. "Where are all those servants?"

Kakashi leaned on his arm and hung over Iruka. "In the kitchen, making us dinner."

Iruka blinked up at the jounin. "Can you sense them?"

"Yes; they're all there. I can also smell the food their making."

"Wow, really?" Iruka couldn't believe Kakashi's sense of smell was that good.

"Yup." Kakashi tapped his nose. "Almost as good as a dogs."

"What?" Iruka almost sat up, except that would have meant smacking into Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled. "Don't ever tell Pakkun I said that; he'd be beside himself."

Iruka's mouth curved into a slight smile at the fond memories of Pakkun. "He's a great summon."

"Yeah. We've been through a lot together."

Iruka became sombre at that. He could only imagine. "I'm sorry."

Kakashi chuckled. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Iruka."

Yes there was. Iruka just wished he could protect Kakashi from ever having to go on another mission again; but that was impossible. Missions like this were why the village needed him so much.

Iruka's heart twisted painfully. He really hoped Kakashi was happy.

Iruka was so lost in thought, he completely zoned out. His face was a canvas of his inner thoughts; he looked anguished, and it was obvious it wasn't for himself. Kakashi, ever so slowly so as not to warn Iruka, leaned in closer. Iruka didn't notice at all.

"What is going on inside that head?" the clone jounin murmured, his eyes grazing the chuunin's face.

Iruka blinked rapidly and blushed furiously; Kakashi was inches away.

"Ah...I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." He definitely was not going to tell Kakashi his heart was bleeding for his daily sacrifices.

The jounin continued to penetrate Iruka's very consciousness with his gaze. Iruka was completely captivated; his entire body was on fire. He felt nervous, but excited.

"Kakashi..."

The clone whispered. "I'm not Kakashi."

For some reason, that made a shiver run through Iruka's body. He licked his lips; he didn't realize how dry they were. Even Kakashi's shadow clone was confusing...he was being Kakashi just a moment ago. "So, are you not acting as he would?"

"I have no idea."

"But...you know you're a jutsu?"

"Yes."

Iruka licked his lips again. His body felt like it was paralyzed. "What is going on inside YOUR head?"

The clone reached up and slowly pulled his mask down. Iruka's heart leaped into his throat.

"I think...if I told you, Kakashi would be mad."

His chest tightened.

"But..." the jounin breathed, staring at Iruka's lips. "He won't find out till later."

Iruka almost couldn't breathe. The clone moved in closer. Iruka closed his eyes.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Kakashi leaped off the bed, landing on the ground with a kunai raised. His mask was back in place.

Iruka...was beside himself.

OH **COME ON!**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"I'll get it." Kakashi breathed, his voice throaty. Iruka took a deep breath and passed a shaky hand through his hair. Holy crap. That was intense.

Kakashi whipped the door open. "What?"

Iruka almost smashed his head on the bedside table.

It was Rinjin.

Seriously?

"I want to talk to Myuki."

"He's busy." Kakashi deadpanned.

"I can SEE HIM, dickhead." She hissed.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Dickhead, eh?

"See this." He replied, and promptly slammed the door in her face.

Iruka smashed his hands into his mouth to keep from laughing VERY loudly.

That was fucking AWESOME.

Rinjin disagreed. "WHAT THE FUCK! NO ONE TREATS ME LIKE THAT! MYUKI! MYUKI DONT LET HIM DO THAT TO ME DAMNIT!"

Iruka stared, stunned, at the door. Never in his life...

The chuunin sighed and slipped off the bed, walking dejectedly to the door. He shot Kakashi a sympathetic look. "Thank you, but...I'll take it from here." He found himself lowering his voice on instinct. "We still need to be in her good books."

Clone Kakashi snorted. "My job is to keep her away from you. She is not entering this room."

Iruka smiled. "Don't worry."

He opened the door. Rinjin was actually red with rage.

"Rinjin. Nice to see you again."

"NICE!? Your asshole body guard totally disrespected me!"

"Ah...yes. Kyto has a bit of a temper. I do apologize for his rudeness; it was uncalled for."

"UGH! Well...whatever." She seemed to calm down a bit. She pouted and leaned in, dragging a finger up Iruka's arm. "At least you're here now. I know we agreed no...well, INTENSE play...but I want some more action."

Iruka, through sheer professionalism and devotion to his calling, remained calm and collected on the outside. On the inside...

_OH NO. WHAT have I gotten myself into!? There is absolutely no way she is putting her mouth on my face ._

"Rinjin..." Iruka sighed. "This is starting to look extremely familiar..."

Rinjin, much to Iruka's complete delight, actually looked panicked. "Oh! No, no! Look, I mean, I don't care. I was just kinda horny and thought I'd ask. It's completely whatever."

Iruka levelled her with a tired stare. "Really? You're not getting..." he paused for effect. "...clingy?"

"HAHAHAH!" Rinjin burst out laughing, a little too loudly. "Clingy!? God, no! I mean, you have to give a shit to be clingy, which I definitely do not."

Iruka smiled. "Well, that is a relief then. I hope you don't mind, but I just arrived not ten minutes ago and would like to have some food, and then a nap."

"Oh, sure. Go ahead. How selfish of me." She wiggled her eyes at Iruka. "Go ahead and rest up...you'll need it. Bye!" and with that, she flounced down the hall.

Iruka closed the door...then pressed his back against it and sank down to the floor. THANK GOD.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Iruka blinked and zoned in. Kakashi was standing before him; and was slow clapping him.

"Well. That was really well handled, sensei. Have a lot of women throwing themselves at you, do you?"

Iruka's head burst into Blush Flame.

"Ah...uh...haha...well, thanks...and uh...no...most definitely not." God, he was embarrassed. He just couldn't win.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The rest of the day passed without event. Kakashi's clone remained friendly, but made no other...interesting moves on Iruka. The chuunin was thoroughly confused. If he wasn't insane, he was CERTAIN the clone had come within moments of kissing him. Was it possible for a clone to act independently of its caster? Did that mean Kakashi would have done the same?

No. No, surely not...

Speaking of Kakashi, Iruka was starting to get really worried. It was almost dark, and he still wasn't back yet. He wondered if he knew where to find them.

Maybe he got attacked...

No. He wouldn't think like that; if he did, he'd worry himself sick.

Dinner arrived and Iruka ate in concerned silence. The clone obviously didn't touch his portion, but left it for Kakashi.

When Iruka finished his meal and Kakashi still wasn't back, he couldn't help it. He had to ask.

"Ah...Kakashi."

The clone turned to him. "Mm?"

"Can you...I mean, do you have any idea where Kakashi, Kakashi is?"

The clone smiled. "Worried, are we?"

Iruka flushed. "Ah, yes. He should have been back a couple of hours ago."

"Sorry, but no." Was the gentle reply. "But...at least we know he's alive. If he wasn't, I wouldn't be here."

Iruka perked up, but only slightly. "Yes, that is true. Thank you."

Iruka sighed. He hoped he wasn't hurt.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooo

Iruka washed up and got into bed, but he had no idea how he was supposed to sleep. Kakashi was really late. Well...actually, technically that was normal; Kakashi was always late. But Iruka didn't think Kakashi would be late in a matter like this if he could help it. Iruka glanced over at the clone, who was sitting on a chair by the window.

"Ah...I guess you don't need to sleep?"

The clone smiled. "No. I'll stand guard."

"Thank you." Iruka replied, really thankful for the clones presence. At least he was a piece of Kakashi. Iruka's heart dropped at the thought of the jounin. He was alright...maybe he just took longer in Konoha then he originally intended.

Iruka let out another long sigh and closed his eyes, trying to sleep.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

A couple of hours later found Iruka no closer to sleep then he was when he got into bed. He grumbled and threw the covers off, rolling out of bed. Kakashi's clone turned to look at him, his expression lost in the dark.

"What's wrong? I've noticed you haven't slept at all."

Iruka sighed. "I can't sleep...not when I don't know where Kakashi is." There was no point in hiding it, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with worrying about a comrade who was missing in the middle of a mission. He walked towards the bathroom, stretching his stiff muscles. But then...he felt a draft. What the...the chuunin turned, then jumped back in alarm.

There were two Kakashi's in the room. That meant...

"KAKASHI!" Iruka exclaimed, a giant weight lifting off of his entire chest. He bolted towards the window, which is where the jounin had come in. Closer to the moonlight, he could see their expressions. Clone Kakashi was smiling warmly, and real Kakashi looked bashful. He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Maa...I'm sorry, Iruka. I realize I must have worried you."

"That's fine! I'm just relieved you're alright!" Iruka raked his eyes over Kakashi's body. "And you aren't injured?"

Kakashi laughed, and looked even more embarrassed. "Ah...no. I was held up at the village; Tsunade wanted a complete mission debriefing, and then the council got involved...it was a long process."

Iruka couldn't actually care less, he was so relieved. "Yes, of course. That makes sense. That's what I figured."

Clone Kakashi laughed. "He couldn't even sleep, he was so worried."

Iruka stuttered, his face once again joining the mighty fire engine in its redness. Kakashi gazed at him, The Unreadable Expression back in place. He didn't say anything, but he did give Iruka a lingering once over, as he seemed to realize his lack of dress.

Iruka's entire body tingled at the attention, and he felt slightly self conscious. He was only topless, wearing a pair of loose silk pants (because he wasn't allowed to wear lowly cotton) but with Kakashi looking at him like that, he began to wonder if the jounin found him attractive or not.

"Well. You can sleep now, Iruka. I'm here."

Iruka shuddered. He blamed it on the chill from the wind. "Alright, Kakashi. Your dinner is on the table." He turned his back and crawled back into bed, but there was no way he was falling asleep. He was wide awake, and every fibre of his being was on edge. He seriously had no idea how Kakashi could do this to him so easily.

He heard the 'poof' of his shadow clone being dispelled, and froze. Oh. Now Kakashi would know everything that happened while he was gone. Iruka sat in bed and turned to look at the jounin sheepishly.

Kakashi started to walk forward, but stopped suddenly. Iruka noticed that his cheeks tinged pink. He looked embarrassed. Iruka groaned internally –one guess as to what he was embarrassed about.

"Kakashi...is everything alright?"

"Oh!" Kakashi answered quickly. "Yes. It's fine. I just realized you had a run in with Rinjin –she sure is persistent. Gotta go wash up." And with that, Kakashi was in the bathroom and the door was shut.

Iruka stared at the door in shock. Well...at least he wasn't mad?

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooo

Kakashi emerged from the bathroom with his hair and mask down and all his armour off. He still wore his tunic and pants, Iruka guessed because he had to be ready to fight at all times.

Iruka was lying in bed on his side, facing the bathroom. He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch Kakashi and make him uncomfortable. He felt the bed sag where the jounin climbed in. Suddenly, his body was on fire. Damnit. Kakashi was sleeping next to him. His skin prickled. He felt the frighteningly strong urge to reach out and touch him. This was going to be interesting.

"Iruka."

The chuunin opened his eyes and lifted his head, surprised. Kakashi was looking at him, and from what he could see with his fairly strong night vision, he actually looked ashamed.

"My clone...I...was out of line. I'm sorry."

Iruka sat up, scooting closer to Kakashi. "You don't have to apologize, Kakashi. It's completely fine. You, uh, two, didn't do anything wrong."

Kakashi shook his head. "You're too nice, Iruka."

"No, really. It's fine." Iruka REALLY didn't want to have to tell Kakashi that he had no objections in order to make him feel better, but it was starting to look like he'd have to. He tried to smile reassuringly instead.

However, his resolve crumbled...he had to know one thing.

"But, Kakashi..." he started, then stopped. He didn't know if he had the guts to ask this question. The jounin kept a steady gaze on him, his face blank.

"Kakashi...ah. Did you...want to kiss me?" Well, there we go. He thought it was a pretty fair question, considering.

Kakashi didn't say anything for an excruciatingly long time. Iruka just tried to look reassuring. Finally, he answered.

"Yes."

It felt like all of Iruka's organs were having a party in his torso. He actually felt light headed. He felt himself suck in a sharp breath in surprise. He had a decision to make. It wasn't a very hard one.

"Kiss me now." He breathed.

Kakashi actually growled. "_Iruka_..."

A shudder racked Iruka's body that was so strong he actually curled in on himself. "Kakashi..."

"I _can't_" he choked out, and he looked agonized. He was even more attractive when his features were drowning in emotion; Iruka could not resist him.

"Wha-?" And he could barely speak.

"I-I lied to you...about why I was late." Kakashi swallowed. "I was attacked in the woods. I thought I killed them all...but apparently there was an animal summon spying in the trees. They brought their intel back here. They'll be coming after me."

Iruka froze. Oh shit. "The mission, is it...?"

"No." Kakashi answered, his voice coming out hoarse. "They don't know I'm from Konoha, and they don't know about the mission. Also...for some reason I can't understand, they don't suspect you. They think I'm acting independently."

Iruka felt like he fell into a pool of ice water. "I...I have to continue alone?"

"I'm sorry. This is my fault –I was too confident." Kakashi truly looked tortured. "I came back because I knew you'd be worried, and I wanted you to know I was alive. But...I didn't...I thought maybe I could stay a little longer, but I can feel their chakra's downstairs."

Iruka felt himself panic. No. He didn't want to be without Kakashi.

"I'll be watching you, always. I'll be as close to you as I can. I'm not going anywhere."

Iruka couldn't respond. He didn't know why...he just...no, this wasn't happening. Not when Kakashi...when maybe they could...

Kakashi suddenly grabbed Iruka, dragging him forward. Their bodies, and faces, were so close Iruka could feel the heat pouring off Kakashi. "Iruka, I..." he stopped; then they heard it. People were rushing up the stairs. Damnit!

Iruka looked into Kakashi's eyes, trying to be strong. "I won't let you down, Kakashi. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll get whatever else we need from the conference, and the-"

"-STOP. Just..." Iruka had never seen Kakashi so emotional. "Iruka..." And then, in one swift movement, Kakashi grabbed the chuunin's head in his hands and kissed him hard.

Iruka didn't spare a single moment to register his shock; he melted into Kakashi instantly. The jounin absolutely ravaged Iruka's lips, kissing him every different way you could be kissed; soft pecks followed by biting, teasing Iruka's tongue with his then kissing his lips over and over.

It was like a switch went off and Iruka's brain completely shut down. He felt like he didn't have control of himself. His arms flew up and wrapped around Kakashi's neck, then traveled down his back, his nails raking the jounins skin. He answered all of the others hungry kisses, matching him in his urgency. He had never felt so hot; his entire body was ringing with desire. His mind felt like it was floating outside of his body.

Kakashi picked Iruka up and slammed him down on his back, pinning him to the mattress with his arms. Iruka moaned, and Kakashi bent down and kissed him again. Now, even though it felt like his ears were ringing and stuffed with cotton, Iruka could hear the footsteps. He wanted to cry. He couldn't believe this was going to end, and Kakashi was going to leave.

Kakashi broke the kiss abruptly. He pulled back enough that Iruka could see his face. His eyes were completely glazed over; his cheeks flushed, his lips red. "Iruka, watch your back. Don't trust anyone. I'll be watching you."

"_Kakashi_...no..." Iruka moaned, his eyes pleading. The jounin growled and kissed him again, before whipping around and grabbing a kunai off the night stand (when the hell did he put that there...). He picked Iruka up, jumped behind him, and poised the kunai against his neck. He took a second to fly through a few hand signs over his kunai –Kakashi was dropping the wards on the room.

A moment later the door flew open, and in ran the other merchants body guards, followed closely by their respective traders. Rinjin screamed.

"NO! He got to him already! Save Myuki!"

Seriously?

Iruka wanted to tell Kakashi to just kill him.

"Stay back." Kakashi growled, pressing the kunai into the skin of Iruka's neck. "Unless you want to lose your investment..."

"Don't do anything stupid, shinobi." One of the guards cautioned; his own kunai in his hand.

"He won't do it..." Iruka rasped. "He doesn't have the balls...literally."

Iruka thought he was pretty clever with that one. He felt Kakashi knee him in the back lightly.

Suddenly, Iruka felt Kakashi tense, as if he was about to spring. His heart sank. This was it...he was leaving.

As Iruka thought, in a flash, Kakashi had grabbed the chuunin around the waist and sprang forward with him. Before anyone even knew what was happening, they had their arms full of Iruka. Thusly distracted, Kakashi sailed through the window with ease. He was out and down the wall before the guards had even gotten Iruka off of them (Iruka wasn't being very helpful).

The merchants ran towards him and the guards cursed and tried to follow Kakashi. Iruka knew the jounin would get away safely; he was clearly MUCH faster than them.

Everyone was talking to him, but Iruka barely listened. He didn't even understand why they still trusted him. Kakashi called him their 'investment'. Was it possible he knew more than Iruka? Had he discovered something on his journey?

It took around twenty minutes for them to leave. Iruka answered all their questions as best he could; thankfully, they didn't ask anything detailed. Or, maybe that was suspicious.

He wandered back to his bed and mindlessly climbed in. He touched his lips. He desperately missed Kakashi already. He could still feel his lips, his hands...he'd never felt like that before; never been kissed like that. It was exactly like something you'd read in a novel; he never thought he'd get to experience it. He was still on fire.

The whole situation was overwhelming and Iruka had so much to think about. Kakashi's pride must be smouldering; to be such a talented shinobi and yet be out done by an animal summon.

Iruka got the distinct feeling there was a LOT Kakashi hadn't been able to tell him about the situation. Or...perhaps, purposefully didn't tell him.

He sighed. Kakashi...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo

HOPE YOU ENJOYED! MWAHAHAHAHA. I swear things will be explained. Hopefully this was not a confusing chapter. Or maybe that's a good thing? I don't even know. I need to do my homework, hahaha.


	7. Chapter 7

Iruka lay in bed, starting at the ceiling of his fancy, empty hotel room. He'd barely slept the night before between thoughts of Kakashi, their heated kiss and the predicament they were now in. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment and exhaled. His head was buzzing. He couldn't believe Kakashi actually kissed him. He couldn't believe...

He blushed furiously. His whole body heated when he thought of the night before. He thought about what would have happened if Kakashi hadn't had to leave…

He rolled over, grabbed the nearest pillow (there were like, 6 of them) and crushed it over his head.

_Get a freakin grip, Iruka. You're still a shinobi and you're still on a mission. The most important part is coming up._

_Alright. I'm done acting like a teenager._

Iruka literally leaped out of bed and made a break for his dresser. The day was going to start whether his hormones wanted it or not. He started going through his drawers when he noticed something funny. It was a top…but he didn't recognize it. Maybe it was Kakashi's…? Strange. He picked it up, then jumped back with a start when it POOFED in a cloud of smoke and something dropped onto the ground. Iruka crouched back and waited. The dust settled quickly –it was a scroll. Cautiously, he walked up to it. It had a paw print on it. Iruka gasped; Kakashi.

He bent down and picked it up, and as soon as he touched it, the seal evaporated and the scroll popped open. So, it was made for him then. Iruka smiled affectionately; Kakashi was so clever. He wondered when the hell the jounin had planted it though…

Shrugging, he quickly unfolded it and devoured its contents.

_Myuki_

_If you're reading this scroll, then I'm probably gone and you're probably in a really tight spot. I'm sorry…it's my fault. I will handle everything, don't worry. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I got some interesting info out of Shoka when you were busy ridding Rinjin of her innocence._

Iruka flushed. Only Kakashi would crack such a crude joke in an emergency letter…

_These guys are broke. That's the whole reason for their plot. They pretend to have money, but it's an act. What alerted me in the first place was the way Shoka spoke to me…I can smell bullshit from a mile away (literally). On my way back from Konoha, I wanted to test my theory. That's when I was attacked; I was on my way back from infiltrating Shoka's base camp. I made it look like I was trying to rob them, and I think that's why they're keeping you around –I did my best to make it look like I was a greedy little bastard like they are, and I suppose it worked. I think they were intending to rob us from the start, which explains why they were so interested in being our acquaintances so fast. They're letting you in on their plot to lure you in so they can trap you without suspicion._

_Keep doing what you're doing; but do it fast. I don't know when they're planning on acting, but I can bet their hesitance had a lot to do with my presence. Please, be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you, especially because of me. You don't want me to be scarred for life, do you? Think about that if you ever consider getting yourself into trouble. I've been told I'm an ugly crier; don't give me a reason to._

_Sincerely,_

_Pookieface._

_p.s. Say "Pakkun" out loud and this scroll will disappear._

Iruka, once again, had a thousand emotions running through him. Kakashi's theory made complete sense…Iruka was actually beginning to suspect something was up that had nothing to do with their mission. He never would have guessed, though, that they had no money, but it made a lot more sense for someone who was doing poorly to take as big a risk as they were. Kakashi…he really was incredibly intelligent.

He also wrote a hell of a lot more then he talked.

Iruka smiled fondly. Kakashi's letter warmed his heart; his quirky sense of humor was ridiculously endearing. He didn't actually WANT the letter to disappear, but he knew it was way too risky keeping it around. He reread the last bit one more time, then whispered; "Pakkun" and watched it crumple up into nothing.

Then he sighed. If Kakashi was right and one of the determining factors of when they tried to bump him off was the presence of his body guard, then his time was REALLY limited. He needed to act FAST. Although, they probably needed Iruka to pay them first; if they wanted his money, they would have to get him to give it to them. He didn't exactly carry around a small fortune in his back pocket.

Well, Kakashi had said he'd keep an eye on him; hopefully he'd be able to. If not, and they tried anything, Iruka was sure he could take them out if he needed to. He assumed the mission was over once they tried to get rid of him, so breaking 'cover' wouldn't be an issue.

At least he'd be able to punch Rinjin out with a clear conscience.

Score.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

Once he was ready, Iruka stood in front of his door trying to psyche himself up. He knew he could do this; he was just so used to having Kakashi as his stone wall of support that the idea of facing the others –especially Rinjin- without him made him want to crawl back into bed.

Not to mention a few horrible facts.

Kakashi had dropped the wards on the room the night before. Therefore, Iruka's hotel room was completely undefended; and there was obviously no Kakashi to keep watch in the middle of the night. That meant he actually had to act like a real shinobi on a real mission and sleep with one eye open, check the room every time he came back to it and basically worry 24/7 that someone was gonna jump out of the closet and stab him in the heart.

For a shinobi who had to do this regularly, it wasn't a problem. However, Iruka hadn't had to worry about death in the middle of the night for a LONG time. He was worried his reflexes and his instincts weren't up to par.

He sighed. Well, no point dwelling on it. He just had to do his best and try really, really hard not to die.

He swung the door open.

"Myuki!"

Sweet mother of…

"Good morning, Rinjin."

Death in the middle of the night suddenly wasn't looking so bad.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They walked together, unfortunately, until they met up with the other three merchants. Hanko was looking SERIOUSLY pimped out and it did not suit him at all. Iruka wondered if Hanko was broke too, or if he was part of something different. He always acted so odd compared to the others, and they seemed disjointed as a group.

They exchanged pleasantries and asked Iruka how he was holding up now that his body guard had turned out to be a slimy thief. Shoka asked him if any of his stuff ever went missing; Iruka figured he should say yes to this, but in a way that didn't make him look TOO naïve. He was wondering how to play these guys from this point on…should be make himself an easy target so they screwed up and Iruka could handle them easily, or give them a reason to be wary and maybe put off any attacks? He'd figure it out.

After breakfast, they finally headed to the main event of the convention. Iruka could not believe how many people where there. Surprisingly, not all of them looked as wealthy as the others he had run into; some of them were your run of the mill traders. He supposed everyone came here to do business, but wondered how many had any idea what was going on with the boycott.

The group lead him into a separate, but large, room. Now, all of THESE people looked wealthy. Rinjin shut the door behind him and Iruka's guard flew up.

"Alright; time to get down to business." Shiiba rubbed his hands together. He glanced at Iruka. "Are you in for sure? Because this is a binding contract."

Iruka nodded. "I would not have come here with you if I wasn't."

Shiiba grinned. "Well, let's hope you have a better business sense then taste in traveling companions."

Iruka shot him a dry look. Shiiba just laughed harshly.

"Alright, alright. The deal is half of your goods, up front. In return…you get in on our arrangement."

Iruka thought that sounded like a terrible deal. "I am willing to accept…but I want to know more about the 'arrangement' first."

Shoka stepped in. "Everyone in this room is one of our partners. They all have great influence among their markets. They have also bribed a series of mercenary ninja who would be willing to protect us should Konoha retaliate."

Iruka glanced around the room, memorizing every soul in it. Good to know.

"We have enough forces between the ninja of our village who are with us and the mercenaries and merchants from other countries to hold Konoha at bay until they're too weak to resist." Shoka finished, clearly proud of himself.

"This all sounds good in theory." Iruka cut in, trying REALLY hard not to sound insanely furious. "But I am having a hard time picturing it coming together. There are a LOT of people at this convention…maybe 10 percent of them are in this room right now. What is stopping the others from trading with Konoha?"

Shoka, Rinjin and Shiiba all grinned.

"When I said these people had strong influence; I meant it. That man there." He gestured to a sadly obese black haired gentleman wearing a ring on each finger. "He owns the trading ports in his village. If anyone tries to trade outside of what he wants, he'll put them out of business."

Iruka hoped he didn't turn as white as he thought he might be. "Ah…what about the governments of Mist, and the others?"

Rinjin laughed. "Mist? That's a joke. Mist doesn't care about Konoha. When they get a load of the extra income we'll be bringing in, and when they see how weakened the Fire country will get…there won't be an issue."

Iruka set his jaw. Huh. He thought that was mightily presumptuous of her, and the others, to assume. But if they were right….if they WERE right…

Iruka needed to get his intel to his village immediately. Tsunade and the council would know more of what the other Kage's and their respective councils were capable of then he would.

"So, what exactly is the plan? One day, you send a signal and everyone stops trading with Konoha?"

"Something like that, yes." Shoka replied smoothly. "Until we get your payment, I am not entirely sure I should divulge that kind of information."

Iruka sniffed haughtily. "So, I should hand over half my goods without reassurances that we all won't be driven out, penniless, within the first day?"

Shoka grinned. "I thought you would say that; that's why I invited you here. Please…speak to whomever you wish in this room. I am positive they will reassure you."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Reassure him they did.

By the time Iruka got back to his hotel room, he was shaking. He was thoroughly overwhelmed. Their horrible plan was ACTUALLY happening. They had powerful, POWERFUL merchants and landowners at their disposal. He could not…could NOT fathom what Konoha, or Fire country, had EVER done to any of them (recently, anyway) to deserve this.

He wanted Kakashi. Kakashi would know what to do; he felt out of his element. Should he race back to Konoha RIGHT NOW and tell them? Should he stay a little longer? He had no idea how much longer they would "let" him live. He signed the papers and shook hands and agreed to give half of his "goods" away…so now they no longer needed him.

Iruka groaned. Kakashi…if only. He missed him so badly his soul ached. It still amazed Iruka how strongly he felt about the jounin.

He needed him now…he wished he wasn't alone.

After mulling the situation over for an hour, Iruka decided to stay. He pulled out a blank scroll and wrote down all his intel, just in case he was murdered. He sealed it with a riddle, one he hoped anyone from Konoha would be able to answer, and no one else. He put the scroll under his pillow, along with a kunai; no one would get to it unless they killed him first.

He lay down in bed, and tried to relax. He just kept wishing for Kakashi. He wondered if the jounin was safe…wondered if he was comfortable. Where he was staying, what he was doing. He just…wanted him.

He sighed, lay down, closed his eyes and fell asleep faster then he'd expected.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooo

Iruka cracked an eye open. His senses were going mad; he had a bad feeling someone else was in the room with him. He was, blessedly, facing the window when he fell asleep, and he knew his visitor would be able to see his eyes in the dark. Tentatively, he cracked them open a fraction; he had just enough vision to see the outline of a person approaching the bed. So…Kakashi had been right, and this was the big moment. Or, moment number one, if the assassin wasn't successful.

Iruka could feel that his hand was still under the pillow where his kunai was hiding, along with the scroll. He just had to wait for the right moment to strike. His heart was beating furiously in his ears and he prayed the person in the room wasn't a skilled shinobi or his anxiety would be a dead giveaway that he was awake.

The figure was being cautious, but definitely not cautious enough; He could even hear his feet on the floor. Guess that answered his first question.

Iruka felt the assassin lean over the bed; NOW.

Iruka grabbed the kunai and launched himself up, spinning around so fast his hair swept around his head like a curtain. His heart skipped a beat when he felt his wrist hit what felt like a brick wall –the assassin had caught his hand. How the HELL –he must be incredibly fast.

"Ah!"

He gasped as he felt his arm twisted around neatly and then forced over his head. The kunai was implanted into the mattress and his arm was at an angle that it was impossible to struggle.

Iruka panicked and used the sturdiness of the weight on his arm to put all of his momentum into his leg. He twisted around and swung his knee up into the side of the assassin. Again, he panicked. A loud "SMACK" resounded over the room as the shinobi (he was definitely a ninja) skilfully caught his leg and twisted around with it, until he had the chunnin's thigh trapped tightly against his waist. The grip was like steel.

Iruka took a moment to assess his situation.

He was screwed.

His position was, he had to admit, artfully planned out. His hip was in the air, his arm was pinned, and his other arm and leg were useless due to the excessive weight they were currently enduring. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck .

The chuunin was panting, more from stress then exertion. The only good thing about this situation was that his attacker was stuck as well; although judging from how skilled he obviously was, that probably wasn't going to be an issue for long.

He felt the shinobi lean in and his heart froze in his chest. Oh God…please don't let him be a pervert. Iruka just wanted to die quickly.

But then…

The assassin was so close, he could smell his skin. He would never misplace that smell. He felt a strangled moan escape his throat.

"You have some power to your punches, sensei." Kakashi purred into his ear, whispering low enough so he would not be heard.

Iruka relaxed his body –Kakashi picked up on this instantly and released him.

Iruka sprang forward and tackled the jounin, squeezing him to his chest in utter, complete and total relief.

"_KAKASHI._" He whimpered into the other mans ear; he felt Kakashi chuckle into his cheek in response.

"Sorry I scared you; I was trying to be loud enough that you would hear me coming."

He spoke into Iruka's ear, the two of them completely entangled. Iruka had his arms wrapped very firmly around Kakashi's neck and was sitting in his lap, his legs around the others waist. Iruka was relieved, excited, worried, excruciatingly happy…he thought he was going to pop.

"I can't believe you're here…" Iruka was having a hard time controlling his voice. Everything wanted to come out as a whimper. He still could not believe the effect Kakashi had on him.

"I had to." Kakashi responded firmly and definitely with a primal undertone. Iruka shuddered lightly. He didn't understand why Kakashi felt so strongly about him, but he wasn't going to argue. "I've been gathering information…you have one day, at the most. Most likely, they'll make an attempt on you tonight."

"Oh!" Iruka twisted back and reached under his pillow, revealing the scroll. He pushed it into Kakashi's hand. "I got extremely valuable information today, Kakashi. The situation is worse than we thought. Everything is in there, including descriptions of the people involved, and a lot of their names." Iruka gazed up into Kakashi's eyes. "I don't know what more to do…" He whispered, pleadingly, his statement also a request the jounin's help.

Kakashi reached behind his back and put the scroll into his waist pack. "Iruka…you, as usual, are doing an amazing job. I've been keeping my eye on you; you're making a lot of the jounin I've worked undercover with look like amateurs."

Iruka's face flushed bright red and his whole body seemed to tingle at the extremely flattering compliment. Iruka felt himself press his face into the crook of Kakashi's neck; the jounin tensed in response.

"_Iruka…_"

The chuunin gasped. When Kakashi said his name like that, his whole mind blanked.

He felt himself being pulled back. Kakashi's eyes bored holes into his soul. Iruka was trying to control his breathing, but was certain he was failing astronomically. He felt Kakashi's hand rest on his jaw. The jounin's thumb lightly caressed his cheek, his eyes never leaving Iruka's. Slowly, his thumb traveled down. He brushed Iruka's bottom lip, as if he'd never seen it before. Iruka's body was responding on its own, and without realizing it, he opened his mouth slightly when the jounin's thumb pressed it.

Kakashi inhaled sharply. He pulled Iruka's lip down with his thumb, just slightly, brushing it harder, and in response the tip of Iruka's tongue flicked out and licked the jounin's skin.

That seemed to set something off, and Iruka hazily registered that he was on his back once again. The wind was knocked out of him; and there wasn't much left in there to begin with. "_Haaa_…Ka..Kakashi…"

Kakashi had the chuunin's legs pinned around his waist. Once again, Iruka's hips were in the air. Kakashi leaned over, holding Iruka's hips, pushing the chuunin up the bed until he came in contact with the headboard. But Kakashi kept moving, folding Iruka in slightly so that the Jounin was completely leaning over Iruka's body and the chuunin's back was curved. Iruka felt completely breathless, and their groins were posed tantalizingly close; but it seemed Kakashi was keeping them from connecting in the way he desperately wanted. A pool of warmth was growing stronger and stronger in his crotch, so much that he felt lightheaded. Every one of his nerves felt like they were on fire.

"Iruka…your life is in danger." It came out almost as a growl; Kakashi was fighting himself. "I can't protect you like this, I can barely even think. But I…." He stopped; he was trying to reel himself in.

"I can't resist you."

He leaned down so that their noses brushed together, causing the chuunin's body to be curled up further, his hips grinding with Kakashi's in a way that sent a bolt of electricity up his spine that seemed to explode into the back of his eyes. He clenched his thighs; Kakashi pressed into him in response.

"Ahh!…"

Kakashi lightly brushed his lips against the chuunin's open mouth, their skin barely touching. It was such a soft, gentle gesture compared to the force with which he was pressing Iruka into himself and into the mattress. But that was Kakashi…he was soft and hard.

Iruka tilted his head up and captured Kakashi's lips fully. The jounin responded instantly, and they kissed slowly, but deeply. Every press of their lips was lingering; every kiss was like a caress. They slowly explored each other's mouths, as if they had all the time in the world. Kakashi released Iruka's hips just slightly to ease the pressure on the chuunin's body, and ran his hands along his naked sides, just barely grazing the skin of his pecs with the tips of his fingers.

"Haa…" Iruka lightly gasped against Kakashi's mouth, and without missing a beat, Kakashi flicked his tongue against the chuunins lip and Iruka invited him in. Their kiss deepened, but the pace remained the same; slow, deliberate and searching. Iruka was shaking he was so turned on.

Kakashi slowly broke the kiss, placing a soft peck just below Iruka's eye before facing the chuunin. He looked distraught. He looked aroused; he looked amazing.

"Kakashi…" Iruka panted. "I want you…."

Kakashi's entire face went predatory. He clenched his fists. "Iruka, don't _say_ things like that to me. I have to go…I really shouldn't have come in here. I told myself I wasn't going to, but then I saw you sleeping through the window…you're beautiful, and I couldn't resist."

Iruka couldn't believe Kakashi called him beautiful; it did not help his situation.

"Please, Kakashi…._please…._" Iruka was panting again. He thought he was going to die if Kakashi didn't touch him.

Kakashi actually snarled. Like a flash, Iruka was suddenly pinned by the waist. Kakashi was straddling him, his hands grasping the sides of Iruka's neck, thumbs pressing into Iruka's jaw and tilting his head up. It surprised him that he felt so good being in such a vulnerable position; he let out a small moan and gazed steadily into Kakashi's feral eyes.

"The _things_ I'm going to _DO TO YOU." _

He said it almost like a threat. Except that the chuunin knew what _things_ he meant, and he was far from scared: He was excited.

Iruka licked his lips. He kept his gaze steady.

"_Now_…please…."

He knew what his pleading was doing to Kakashi, and so he kept right on going. If Kakashi was going to tease him again, Iruka was going to get him twice as bad. "Take me…_own_ me, PLEASE."

Iruka could hear Kakashi's breath coming in heavy. His eyes looked glazed over; he was frozen in place.

That's when Iruka noticed something he was too out of it to see; Kakashi's sharingan was out, and it was spinning wildly. The chuunin had a bad feeling about that.

"Kakashi…."

"I'm saving this moment for later."

Iruka shuddered. Wow…he could do that?

Kakashi leaned in one last time.

"Sleep, Iruka."

Iruka froze. He knew enough about the sharingan to know what THAT meant.

"Stop tha….uh…." The chuunin suddenly felt heavy all over; but it was an amazing feeling. He felt like he'd never been stressed in his entire life; like his limbs hadn't known anything but massages and hot springs. All his muscles turned to goo.

"Don't…want…to…"

Kakashi was gazing at Iruka with an expression that was soft, but muddled with arousal. "I'll be here, guarding you." The jounin bent his head and kissed Iruka softly on the lips. "I'll make this up to you; you'll be begging me to stop instead of begging me to take you. Right now, though, it's more important that I watch you."

Iruka couldn't even retort…he slipped into darkness.

Damn sharingan…how was it that Kakashi ALWAYS had the upper hand?

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

Iruka jerked up in bed. His instincts were going mad. He was mildly confused as to where he was and how he got there. Then, he heard it; a loud THUD. He leaped out of bed and stared at the window. It was night time…this was his hotel room.

Kakashi.

Sharingan.

Right. Doi.

It still looked late, so whatever Kakashi did to him, it couldn't have been very strong.

_SPLAT._

Blood suddenly splattered along the entire length of his window.

Iruka jumped back. Holy SHIT.

He darted to the side, trying to get a better view of whatever the hell was going on. He knew Kakashi was out there, so he was panicking. That wasn't…it couldn't be Kakashi's.

A figure appeared. The window opened, and he stepped into view.

It was Kakashi, and he was covered in what was obviously someone elses blood. He shot Iruka a look that very pointedly said "I told you so" before leaping off into the darkness.

Well.

Guess he had a point then…

He was still a tease, though.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

Mwahaha.

Okay, I have a question.

I know you guys want more smuttiness, which I am happy to supply, but I've heard that is removing all the stories that contain anything like that. I don't wanna write a smexy scene and then have my story removed. Anyone have any info on that?

Spanks! Hope you liked!


	8. Chapter 8

Iruka slowly opened his eyes to the early afternoon sun. He gauged it must be around 11:00 or so. Never would he sleep in that late in Konoha, but last night had been...taxing, to say the least.

He blushed furiously.

Nope, not that again. You save those thoughts for later.

He squinted at his expansive window. All traces of blood or battle were gone; Kakashi was a thorough killer.

That's when he noticed it; there was a leaf on his pillow. Gingerly, Iruka reached out his hand and touched it. As he thought, it disappeared with a 'POOF' and in its place was a scroll. He rolled over so he was lying on his back, uncurled the message and read its contents eagerly.

_Myuki,_

_Be prepared for anything._

_Pookieface._

Huh. Iruka was actually really disappointed; he was hoping to hear more from the jounin. He realized that was totally ridiculous as he'd JUST seen the man not 6 hours ago.

He was in deep, alright.

He muttered 'pakkun' and the scroll disintegrated. Iruka sat up in bed, considering his options.

They had obviously tried to have him killed last night. So, how was he supposed to act around them? Was it best if he played dumb? Maybe…maybe he would make it out like he hadn't been in his room all night all last night. That way, he had a reason for being oblivious. Although that didn't account for why the assassin had failed and never returned. He supposed he could leave that up to them to figure out; it's not like they could ask Iruka. Maybe they would think he took off with their money; hired assassins aren't the most honest folks out there.

Iruka mulled things over as he got dressed. He only had one outfit left before he would have to revert back to the green and cream ensemble he wore when the mission started. He had no idea if that was acceptable or not, but it would have to be. Screw them, they were broke anyway.

He heard a light knock at the door. He grinned to himself; he was eager to see how they would handle 'finding his body'.

"Myuki? Are you there?"

Yup, it was Rinjin. She waited a moment then knocked again.

"Myuki? MYUUUKKIIIIIIII!"

The chuunin gave her another moment to get her hopes up before swiftly opening the door so he could catch her expression.

Catch it he did. She gaped at him for a few seconds before she caught herself and tried to look pleased.

"Oh! Umm…there…there you are! Ah…how was…your sleep?"

Translation: Why are you alive?

"Oh, it was fine. What can I do for you?" He wasn't going to give this to her; he'd let her flounder a little more.

"Ah…well, I was hoping maybe we could have…breakfast together?" She asked, looking very uncertain of herself for someone who had made her way to his hotel room on her own accord.

"I do apologize, but I…well, to be frank, I just got back to my room now and I'd like a chance to shower and get my books organized. We did arrange a rather large transaction yesterday; I need to do the paper work for myself."

Rinjin snapped to attention. "Oh! Oh, so…you weren't in last night? Well, where were you then? You better not have been with another woman; remember our arrangement!"

Iruka regarded her for a moment before leaning in, not having to put on an act for once. He looked cold and uncaring. "I don't remember being restricted to you only as part of our arrangement."

Rinjin looked taken aback. "Well…fine! As long as it doesn't get in the way of our play time!" She huffed, then turned on her heel and stalked off.

Well, that was easy.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka sighed to himself as he played with his lunch. He had to admit, he was slightly lost. He wasn't so sure he should be staying cooped up in his room where he was potentially an easy target, but honestly, he had no business with the others anymore. He wasn't sure how to handle them. He supposed he should try and get some more details on their exact plans for executing the boycott, but he wasn't so sure they would offer the information. They had never planned to give it to him in the first place, after all.

After another hour of fighting with himself over what to do, Iruka decided he should definitely go down to the hall and try and sneak some more intel. It was obviously better then rotting in his room. Besides, they couldn't possibly try and kill him in a public place, so really, he was better off downstairs with them then in his room.

He finished off another sweet roll (just in case he had to run off into the bushes and hide there or something), slipped a kunai into his robes in case anyone tried anything funny, and headed out the door.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He ended up wandering the convention for around twenty minutes before bumping into Hanko. The trader looked overzealous to see him; he had to give him credit for his acting skills. He took Iruka to the rest of the gang, who were assessing him with mixed looks.

Honestly, if Iruka had ACTUALLY evaded the assassin and was trying to gauge who was attempting to kill him, it wouldn't have been hard for him to figure out at all.

They did not look happy to see him.

Not to mention he was supposed to have substantially more money than them; enough to hire four more assassins to take out their sorry asses. Could they not think of that?

They made a pitiful attempt at conversation and Iruka knew he would have a hard time getting anything out of them, as they were obviously put out that they had wasted their money on their hired hand. Iruka considered that they didn't have enough funds to hire a new one, and could potentially have to wait a long time before taking him out of the picture. He laughed inside.

Amateurs.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

It was getting fairly late by the time Iruka, Rinjin and the others made it to the meeting hall. It was already dark, and dinner had been served. Iruka was walking behind them for practical reasons (like not having to worry about them stabbing him in the back) and because he was lost in thought. The others approached the doors before he got there.

"AAAHHHHH!"

Iruka jumped back, all his senses in battle mode. Rinjin was clutching her face and screaming her head off; Shoka and Shiiba were frozen at the entrance to the hall. Iruka shouldered past them, reaching into the folds of his sleeves to grasp his hidden kunai.

He froze.

Everyone had been slaughtered.

He couldn't tell if all of the wealthy merchants who were in on the plot were present, but there couldn't possibly be more than a couple missing. He was absolutely stunned. Had it been...Kakashi? Iruka had JUST given him the intel on every single dead person before him last night; it wouldn't be impossible for him to make this kind of move. Iruka felt his heart sink; for Kakashi to have to do something like this...

"Whatthehellholyshitwhatdowed o!?" Rinjin was babbling and pacing and screaming. Fat lot of help she would have been in a crisis if they HAD gone through with their plans, which were OBVIOUSLY not happening now.

"We need to leave this room immediately." Iruka cut in smoothly, turning on his heel to face the other three. "Go. Now."

They didn't hesitate. They all made as if to run for their lives, except something stopped them and Rinjin screamed again. Iruka quickly made his way over to investigate.

There was another dead body right at the entrance to the hall. Iruka recognized him faintly as one of the merchants he had seen in this very hall the day before.

Someone had murdered him not a minute ago; there was fresh blood oozing from the gash wound that ran up the length of his torso.

Rinjin crawled over to a corner and threw up.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Shiiba growled, thrashing his head around, looking for the culprit. "Someone found us out...someone is trying to kill us..."

If Iruka was 100% sure it was Kakashi, he would have enjoyed the merchants fear immensely. As it was, he still didn't know what he was up against; except that the person had to be incredibly skilled to murder someone right behind their backs without them noticing.

ESPECIALLY without Iruka noticing.

"Hurry; keep going! Do you want to have to answer to the guards for this?" Iruka snapped, jabbing his finger forward and glaring at the three men in front of him. They were too terrified to find his curtness offensive; they made as if to escape again.

A figure leaped down, seemingly from mid air, to land smoothly five feet or so in front of their group. He was dressed completely in black, with a black fabric face mask that even covered his eyes with a translucent grey material. There was blood all over the front of his chest.

Everyone screamed except for Iruka. He wondered if he should have screamed too, for effect.

Nah.

Iruka quickly assessed his situation. The assassin had the same body type and was the same height as Kakashi. If Iruka had to put his money on something, he would say it was definitely the jounin. However...the way the assassin was standing; predatory, merciless...it put Iruka on edge. He wasn't going to make such a pathetic, fatal error as letting his guard down around a nameless murderer because he was PRETTY sure he knew him.

"Please, leave us alone! We didn't know those guys; we were just going there to ask them to dinner." Rinjin sobbed from her spot on the floor. She really looked pathetic.

The assassin slowly unsheathed his sword from the holster strapped to his back. He made a show of it; he was obviously trying to extend their suffering, and it was working. At the sight of the bloody blade, they all seemed to break down.

"No; wait! We can pay you! Whatever you're being paid, we'll double it!" Hanko pleaded, looking absolutely terrified and shaking from his knees up. "You can trust us; we'll get you the money! Whoever hired you; turn back and take them out!"

"Yes, yes; with our combined wealth, you'll make a fortune! It is much more to your profit to spare our lives!" Shoka added, trying to keep his dignity by remaining straight faced, but he was glued to the spot and his hands were almost convulsing they were shaking so hard.

Iruka remained silent. He regarded his opponent steadily. He supposed he should beg or something, but his mind was in shinobi mode and it would have been impossible. The only thing he was thinking about was what his next move should be, what the ninja might do, and how he would react to it.

Like a shot, the ninja sprang forward. Iruka tensed; he was heading straight for him and Shiiba. Shit. He didn't want to give his cover up in case, by some strange miracle, the others survived and he had to carry on with the mission for whatever reason. He clamped down on his chakra and leaped to the side using just his legs.

The ninja soared past him, the sword missing his shoulder by a fraction. Shiiba, obviously, did not have the reflexes Iruka had. He screamed in agony as blood spurted from a gaping wound in his side.

Iruka landed on his shoulder with a thud. He grit his teeth and pushed himself up as fast as he could, but moving without chakra he was no better than a civilian. When he'd gotten to his feet, the assassin was standing directly in front of him.

He glanced to the side; Hanko was scrambling away, Rinjin was sobbing in a corner and Shoka was eyeing the ninja with wide eyes, his body tensed and ready to run. Damn. They weren't distracted enough for him to use his chakra to defend himself; not yet at least.

Iruka stared dead into what he assumed were the assassins eyes; he stood perfectly still, as if he was facing a wild animal. In front of him, the other man was still as well. His sword was held to the side, blood slowly dripping off of it. They stayed like that for what felt like minutes, but were merely seconds.

The ninja sprung forward and Iruka braced himself. He heard Rinjin scream again. He noticed the assassin was attacking him dead on, and thus, was covering his body from view. He took the opportunity to whip out his kunai from inside his sleeves and block the powerful sword swipe with the side of the blade.

"AH!" Iruka cried out, on instinct, the blow jarring his wrist. His whole body was pushed back into the wall, and before he knew it, the assassin was looming over him using the weight of his body to push the blade into Iruka.

The chuunin glared furiously and gripped the kunai with his other hand, pushing against the sword with all his strength. The shinobi before him was covering him completely; no one would be able to see him countering his attack.

Not that it would matter if he let the assassin kill him.

Iruka's mind was racing as fast as his heart. Damn, so this WASN'T Kakashi? If it was, he was either confident in Iruka's skills or he had a plan in mind and was in full control of what he was doing. Both sounded plausible, but at the moment, Iruka truly felt like his life was in danger.

The chuunin registered something below him and glanced down. The shinobi had his free hand positioned under Iruka's chest; as if he was going to send some kind of jutsu into his abdomen. Something in Iruka finally snapped. HELL no. Iruka didn't care if anyone saw him; he was NOT dying like this.

He sucked in a sharp breath, gathered his chakra and twisted his hips as fast as he could, sending his knee into his attackers side with all his might. The ninja, taken off guard, leaped to the side to avoid the attack. Iruka wasted no time and blasted off from the wall, landing beside Shiiba's fresh corpse, one knee on the ground, ready to flee at top speed if needed.

The assassin seemed to regard Iruka for a moment before he turned his attention to a closer target; Shoka. Iruka blinked. He was STILL standing there? Damn...their exchange must have lasted not even a minute.

Shoka sputtered. "No! No, not me! What the hell do you want? We already offered you money!"

Rinjin was sobbing somewhere off in the distance. Really, she hadn't even TRIED to run away?

"_According to my employer, you don't have any money."_ The assassin answered in a gnarled, scratchy voice. Iruka thought he was obviously trying to hide his identity. The others were thoroughly terrified.

"Wh-wh-what? That's nonsense!"

Before the assassin could retort, five guards dropped down from the top of the building to stand in between the shinobi, Shoka and Hanko. They pulled out their swords and pointed them at him.

"Stop right there, asshole. You've done enough damage; time to die."

Geeze, Iruka hoped they weren't paying these guys too much money to show up REALLY DAMN LATE to an obvious security breech.

Iruka saw the assassin stretch his arms and torso lazily. He cocked his head to the side.

"_I'm still hungry. I want one more for the road..."_

He whipped around and in an instant was in front of Iruka.

Iruka gasped and jerked back, but he wasn't anywhere near as fast as the other shinobi. Suddenly a hand was gripping his neck, and then he was slammed up against the wall. He briefly registered the sounds of yelling behind him and assumed it was the guards.

He felt the assassin press his body up against his, thick muscles digging into his skin. He couldn't struggle, for some reason his whole body felt paralyzed. He felt breath on his neck. He heard the telltale sound of a kunai being drawn from its holster. He glared defiantly at his soon to be murderer, refusing to be afraid. He barely registered his own progression into the darkness of unconsciousness.

His last thought was of Kakashi and Naruto; he wished he could have lived longer for them.

Then he knew nothing.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hope you enjoyed :D


	9. Chapter 9

Iruka began to faintly register something. Someone was hovering over him…but it felt like he was floating. Floating in nothing; everything was white. He couldn't even think, really. He felt completely weightless…like he was just existing. He wanted to know what that presence was.

Slowly, things started to become clearer. He could see a shape; a blurry outline. He started to feel his own body parts. He realized he still HAD a body; it had felt like he was just a consciousness. He started to feel his own breathing, hear his own heartbeat in his ears. But still…what was that, just in front of him?

It seemed to burst into reality. It was the masked shinobi…he was hovering above Iruka with his kunai raised. Iruka screamed and tried to reach for something to counter the attack with, but all he had around him was air. The kunai dived down.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka screamed and jerked up, punching at the air. Everything was still in a haze. He felt confused, frustrated and groggy.

Something put its hands, strong hands, on his shoulders. Iruka growled and smashed whatever it was with the heel of his hand, and the pressure on his shoulders disappeared. It had felt like a male chest…a muscular male chest.

Iruka instantly panicked. Was he being killed over and over again? What had he done to deserve that…?

"IRUKA!"

The chuunin froze. That voice sounded familiar. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He counted to three. He opened them again, slowly, hoping for clarity.

He noticed he was in a room, in bed…it looked like his hotel room.

There was a person sitting at the foot of the bed. He looked a lot like Kakashi.

Wait.

"….Kakashi…..?"

Iruka winced at how small his voice sounded.

"Yes, Iruka. Can I come near you?"

Iruka closed his eyes again. He was still so disoriented…didn't he die? Was this some kind of weird afterlife thing? Being with Kakashi for all eternity didn't sound like such a bad deal.

He opened his eyes again when he felt comfortable. Everything felt a lot more solid. He was most definitely back in his room, he wasn't dead (as far as he could tell…) and that certainly was Kakashi. Iruka felt a pang of guilt at the stricken look on the jounin's face.

"Yes…I'm…I don't really understand." Was all he managed to say. He tried to smile reassuringly at the jounin but he felt like it came out lopsided and half hearted.

Kakashi stood and slowly walked over. He sat down gingerly next to the chuunin, his eyes never leaving Iruka's. He put a gentle hand on Iruka's shoulder, concern evident in his eyes.

"Iruka, I'm sorry. I tried to make this as easy on you as possible…you're not hurt, are you?"

Iruka blinked. He looked down at himself. He didn't see any injuries…

Oh wait. OHHHHHHHH.

"It was you…?"

Pain flashed in Kakashi's eyes and he looked away, seemingly ashamed. "Yes."

Iruka nodded, his mind racing. It all made sense now. That explained why he was still alive, and as far as he could tell, unharmed.

Memories came back to him in flashes. Yes, it definitely made sense. He hadn't felt any pain and yet he passed out; it was the sharingan. The speed of the assassin, his strength, his skill at going unnoticed until he decided to be seen. Iruka remembered he had a suspicion the killer was Kakashi, but the shinobi had been so unnervingly malicious it had put him off his instincts.

He remembered Kakashi was next to him and snapped his eyes in the jounins direction. Kakashi was looking at him again; he looked anxious.

"Ah…so, I suppose you got orders from home?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered quickly. "Yes, Iruka. They were fairly open ended orders to begin with, but after I updated their intel, they decided they couldn't take the chance of letting them go through with their plans. I was to get rid of everyone who was a threat; so, I did."

The jounin leaned forward and very, very tentatively took Iruka's hand. The chuunin smiled softly and let him.

"However…they wanted to ensure that there was no way anyone would be tempted to continue with the boycott, even after the main players were murdered. They wanted to keep us in the mission, just in case. No one could suspect you had anything to do with their deaths. I had to attack you."

Iruka felt an electric jolt of pain in his heart at the emotion in Kakashi's voice as he mentioned attacking him. The chuunin turned his body so he was completely facing his partner and cupped his face gently in his hands.

"Kakashi. It all makes sense now. You don't have to justify yourself; you did the right thing." Iruka smiled, genuinely this time. "I don't want you to feel guilty. I'm sorry I lashed out at you…it's just that…everything was so muddled…"

Kakashi jumped in immediately; it was clear he was not feeling any better about the situation despite Iruka's reassurances. "Yes, I'm sorry; that's my fault too. You've been out for two days."

Iruka gaped. "T-Two days?" He definitely did not enjoy the thought that he'd been defenceless, useless and out of the loop for 48 hours.

Once again, Kakashi was quick to explain. "There was no other choice; they were asking a lot of questions about what happened. We wanted to keep you under until everything settled down. Our cover story isn't quite in depth enough to stand a murder investigation."

Kakashi gave Iruka a moment to digest the information. The chuunin just nodded mutely.

"Everything is settled now, so you don't have to worry. We dug around a little and found an old enemy of a couple of the big merchants who were planning the boycott. We got rid of him –then pinned the murder on him. He was missing nin status, so it was plausible that he could have done it."

Once again, Iruka was shocked. In such a short time, Kakashi –and who knows who else- had hunted down a MISSING NIN, killed him, and then planned how they were going to execute around 20 other assassinations? All of this was happening while Iruka was pandering around the convention?

Kakashi noticed Iruka's shock. "It wasn't difficult. The shinobi in question wasn't trying very hard to hide himself. Their dispute was also well known amongst their villagers, so it was easy to find out about it."

Again, all Iruka could do was nod. It all made sense. He just couldn't believe how efficient Kakashi –and hell, Konoha- was. Was this how it always happened? So much murder…so much secrecy. How did someone do this on a regular basis and not go mad?

"…Iruka?"

The chuunin was jerked out of his thoughts. Again, he felt a guilty pang at the jounin's expression. He really needed to reassure Kakashi that he was alright.

"Kakashi, I'm not hurt. You really did a great job. It's going to be interesting dealing with the others after this fiasco. I understand why Tsunade wants us to stay here for a while longer. Really, it's fine." He flashed his best, earnest smile at the jounin.

Kakashi kept staring at Iruka questioningly. It seemed like there was something else that was bothering him. Iruka could smell this kind of stuff from a mile away; having to read children's minds all day did that to you.

"Kakashi. What's the matter?" He asked softly, scooting closer to him. He smiled again. He didn't like that Kakashi was upset; he already felt bad enough that he had to murder so many people in such a short amount of time. Kakashi wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed slaughtering civilians.

He seemed to take a moment to decide if he wanted to answer Iruka or not. The chuunin couldn't remember ever seeing Kakashi look so torn.

Suddenly, Kakashi seemed to deflate. His face returned to its regular, carefree, bored expression.

"It's nothing."

Iruka actually laughed out loud. Kakashi looked taken aback.

"Come on, Kakashi. You can't pull that on me, especially not at this point. It'll be in both of our best interests if you fess up now."

Kakashi blinked. He seemed to realize he had no other choice, and sighed despairingly. He took another moment to steel himself.

"I just..." He paused. He looked into Iruka's eyes. "I never wanted you to see that side of me. I especially never wanted to have it directed at you."

He shrugged. He was trying to pass it off like it didn't bother him, but it was evident it did.

"I don't want you to see me differently."

Iruka felt an almost overwhelming flood of warmth fill his heart. He reached forward and wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, pulling the jounin to his chest and hugging him tightly; trying to make him feel as warm as he felt.

"Kakashi, you should never be ashamed of yourself. There are very few people who can do what you do for the village. You sacrifice a lot and everyone respects you for it. Especially me; I always wondered what it was you had to go through in order to protect us. Now I have some kind of idea, and it breaks my heart; it doesn't make me afraid. I don't think you enjoy scaring or killing people; it's just your duty. If it wasn't you, it would be someone else."

Kakashi was silent against Iruka, but the chuunin could feel his heart racing. He rested his head against the jounin's shoulder.

"I wish you didn't have to, but...these are the times we live in. You're talented, so you are the most affected."

They remained that way for another minute; the two of them just resting against each other. Kakashi leaned his head against Iruka's cheek slightly. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Well, I feel stupid."

Iruka glanced up at him, surprised.

"You're a shinobi; of course you understand. I just...got emotional." He added gruffly, obviously unimpressed with himself. Iruka laughed.

"You shouldn't be upset with yourself for getting 'emotional' Kakashi. I've been doing that a lot this mission...trust me."

Kakashi tensed. He regarded Iruka with a totally different expression; it was The Unreadable Expression. He seemed to remember something. He gripped Iruka by the tops of his arms firmly and pulled him back so they could see each other. His eyes bore into the chuunin's. Iruka tried not to look affected, but Kakashi was hard not to be affected by.

"Iruka...be careful, when you fight."

Kakashi was staring at Iruka so intensely the chuunin was having a hard time concentrating on what he was saying.

"The 'Will of Fire' that you care about so much...you embody it completely. You wear it like armour. Your eyes scream defiance; you can almost see the fire in your soul." He leaned in closer; Iruka's breath caught in his throat.

"Do not look at your enemies like that, Iruka. You will tempt them to see if they can break you."

Warmth surged to Iruka's groin. Kakashi looked serious, but he also looked hungry. It made the chuunin wonder how he had felt, fighting Iruka.

"Is that what you wanted?" He whispered, his breath hitching in his throat. He swallowed thickly; it excited him that Kakashi was so predatory, so unpredictable.

"Not exactly..." Kakashi answered, his voice thick. He pulled Iruka to him again, and their mouths met, open and desperate.

Their kiss was deep and hard, Iruka clutching Kakashi as if he'd drown if he let go. The jounin's hands pushed their way from the small of Iruka's back to his shoulder blades, sending a shiver of pleasure up his spine. Iruka realized his shirt was gone; Kakashi was quite the multitasker.

Iruka responded eagerly, moaning at the realization that he could finally have Kakashi. His mind had left him again, and his body was in control. He pressed himself against Kakashi's chest and pushed himself into his lap, straddling the other mans waist and-

"-I've told you ten times already, he is in a freakin COMA. No, you cannot see him. Leave immediately!"

They both froze. DAMNIT!

Iruka yelped as Kakashi suddenly popped up onto his knees, gripping Iruka's thighs and holding them in place. Iruka fell backwards and stared at Kakashi in shock, who was gripping his hips with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Don't worry –they can't hear us."

Iruka balked. No way! Kakashi couldn't seriously be considering continuing when people were standing RIGHT outside the door.

"-But I'm his GIRLFRIEND! I need to see him, I'm worried!"

The jounin, his extremely amused grin still in place, lifted Iruka's thighs higher. The chuunin squawked. "Ah, Kakashi, I really don't think this is a good idea!"

Kakashi, eyeing Iruka, kissed the inside of his thighs.

"Ka-Ahhh...umm..."

He dropped the chuunin's legs and slowly crawled up the length of Iruka's body.

"Girlfriend, are you? That's funny, because other accounts say you just met at the convention. That certainly is a fast romance."

Iruka was quickly losing the power of protest. Kakashi stopped when his arms were on either side of Iruka's head, their faces inches apart. He bent down and sucked on the spot just under the chuunins jaw. He kissed, softly, down his neck. He dropped his hips, pressed them against Irukas, then grinded up as he bit him in the crook of his neck. Iruka moaned loudly.

"Haa...alright, nevermind..."

Well, if Kakashi wasn't worried about it, CLEARLY nothing was wrong! Clearly!

"Yes, well...we uh...who said that?" It was most definitely Rinjin, and she was failing at lying again.

There was a loud, aggravated sigh. "You are REALLY convincing. Really."

Iruka's nerves were on fire. Thusly convinced, he gripped Kakashi's tunic and yanked on it. Kakashi sat back for a moment to allow it to be taken off. He gazed down at Iruka, eyes grazing over his body. Iruka reached up, put his hand on the back of Kakashi's neck and pulled. Iruka needed the jounin to be as close to him as possible; he was so beautiful. His body was pure, cut muscle. The kind a person got who worked their bodies on a regular basis. He was reminded, briefly, of how those muscles felt pinning him to the wall in battle. Suddenly, it wasn't terrifying; it aroused him.

His eyes glistened with want. Kakashi smirked and obliged, bending down and sliding their chests together.

"Look, what do you care? Just piss off and let me-"

"You literally have three seconds to leave before security is on your ass."

"What!?"

Irukas ran his hands all over Kakashi's body; absolutely anywhere he could reach. He felt the strong pull of his neck muscles against his collar bone, the roundness of his shoulder and how it dipped into his bicep. Kakashi's skin was smooth and soft; his muscles hard and unrelenting. He was always such a stark contrast of himself, and Iruka loved it. The chuunin raked his nails down Kakashi's back and bit his shoulder. Kakashi answered by running his fingers through Iruka's hair, then gripping his locks and tugging his head back to reveal his tanned neck. Iruka gasped. Kakashi dove down and ran the tip of his tongue over one of the chuunin's nipples.

"_Kakashi_..." Iruka moaned, wrapping his legs around his partner's hips and pushing up into him. Kakashi used his free hand to grab one of Iruka's thighs, spread it wider, angle his hips and grind his erection into the chuunins. Spots danced behind Iruka's eyelids. He arched his back and moaned again, his head pushing into the hand that held his hair.

"Oohh...yes..." Iruka bucked into the jounins hips as Kakashi moved inbetween Iruka's legs, pushing against Iruka's hardness and rolling his hips in a maddeningly slow circle. Kakashi let go of Iruka's hair and grabbed his other thigh. He pulled the chuunin's legs sharply and dragged Iruka closer, so his back was close to Kakashi's knees. Iruka tried to sit up, but he couldn't. Kakashi smirked down at him.

"I told you I was going to make you beg."

Iruka glared up at Kakashi defiantly, his expression softened by his obvious lust. His heart was racing and all his nerves were on fire. Kakashi just drove him wild.

"Not today." He countered, flicking his head back in false haughtiness, his hair spilling over his shoulders. Kakashi wanted a taste of his will...he would get it.

Kakashi recognized the look in Iruka's narrowed eyes immediately. His expression turned predatory once again. Iruka shivered with excitement.

"Let's see how long you last." The jounin growled.

Suddenly, Kakashi had pinned Iruka's legs down with his knees. The chuunin reacted instantly, twisting his body violently and springing up.

He gasped as his back hit the mattress again. Damnit! He tried to surge forward.

His arms were pinned over his head. He gazed, wide eyed, at Kakashi, who was hovering over him and holding his wrists together with one hand. He looked proud of himself. He looked like he was ready to fuck Iruka till he screamed.

Iruka didn't want to give in that easy –he wanted Kakashi alright, but now this was a challenge.

He shot Kakashi his defiant glare. He pushed chakra into his left leg and yanked it out from under the jounin. Kakashi sent him a feral grin before he moved; quick as a flash. Iruka felt his back being pushed up against the headboard. Kakashi was sitting in his lap, his legs curled around Irukas. Iruka made one last attempt to shove Kakashi with his arms, but Kakashi gripped his wrists again and pinned over his head effortlessly with one hand.

Iruka panted. He had absolutely no chance. He was a little stung...but a lot turned on.

He glared anyway.

Kakashi immobilized him with a sizzling stare. Iruka's resolve crumbled. His breath was still coming fast.

Kakashi leaned in and claimed Iruka's lips. He kissed him slowly and deeply. He pushed his mouth open with his own and flicked his tongue over Irukas. The chuunins muscles relaxed and he melted into the kiss, moaning lightly.

Kakashi's free hand glided up the chuunins neck, grazing along his jaw. He gripped Irukas chin and tilted his head to the side, breaking the kiss. He bent his head and bit Iruka on the neck. The chuunin gasped, the strong heat returning to his groin. Kakashi continued his descent. He dragged his teeth down Iruka's pec and bit his nipple. The chuunin jumped slightly.

"Ka-"

Kakashi yanked him to the side by his arms and he fell sideways onto the mattress. He twisted him a bit to the side until Iruka was flat on his back. He kept his arms pinned with one hand, and with the other, yanked the chuunins pants off so effortlessly Iruka wondered with a pang of jealousy how many times he'd done it before.

Kakashi took one of Irukas wrists in each hand and pinned them to the mattress on his sides. He sat on his waist. He leaned forward again, balancing his weight on his arms, pushing Irukas wrists farther into the mattress. He licked a line from the middle of Iruka's chest down to his belly button with the tip of his tongue. He kissed a trail from his belly button to the inside of Iruka's thigh.

The chuunin pressed his head into the mattress. He was almost desperate for more; but he knew Kakashi wanted that, so he tried to remain quiet.

The jounin licked all the way around the sensitive skin between Iruka's thigh and his length. Iruka moaned loudly –he couldn't help it. Kakashi bit down.

"Ahh...!"

The jounin paid his attentions to Irukas other thigh, and the chuunin tried his absolute hardest not to squirm or buck. Kakashi nipped his way down this time, teasing the soft skin with his teeth, pointedly avoiding Iruka's cock.

Iruka whimpered.

He tentatively let go of Irukas wrists, and they stayed where they were. Kakashi grazed his fingers lightly down the inside of the chuunins thighs, and kissed the base of his length. Iruka cried out.

"Kakashi..." He groaned, his back arching.

The jounin said nothing. He crawled back up Iruka, making sure his stomach grazed against the chuunins hardness. Iruka sucked in a sharp breath. He gripped Kakashi's broad back with his hands and dug his nails into his skin. He whimpered again.

"Mmm..." Kakashi purred, kissing the side of Irukas face. The chuunin wanted him so badly it was almost painful. The jounin reached down and very, very lightly, ran his finger over the tip of Irukas cock.

"AHHH! Kakashi, you're awful!" Iruka cried, clutching the jounin tighter.

Kakashi responded by sucking on the underside of Irukas jaw.

"Kakashi..."

The jounin moved down again. He kissed a nipple. He kissed Iruka's sides. He kissed his hips.

"FINE!" Iruka cried, arching his back. "I can't...take it...please!"

Kakashi looked up. He blinked innocently. "Please what?"

"Touch me...please..." Iruka panted. "Take me...I want you, please..."

Kakashi took a moment to kiss Iruka lightly on the lips. A second later, he was taking the chuunins entire length in his mouth. Iruka moaned so loudly his voice cracked. He gripped the sheets.

"Yes...haaa..."

Kakashi swirled his tongue around Irukas length as he sucked up, flicked his tongue across the tip of Irukas penis, then slid down again.

"Ha...ha...Kakashi..." Iruka moaned softly, his head tilted back, eyes closed tightly. It felt SO good, especially after being denied for so long. The fact that it was Kakashi sent an extra thrill up his spine every time.

Kakashi stopped suddenly. He bent over the bed and picked up his pants, fishing something out. Iruka tried not to moan in misery. He never wanted Kakashi to stop.

The jounin was standing over him again, fisting a small bottle. Iruka slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at Kakashi, his face flushed and lips parted.

"Kakashi...?"

"I give you three minutes before you beg me to stop."

Iruka felt a small thrill. "Wh-what?"

Kakashi spread Iruka's thighs. He lathered his fingers in oil. It dawned on Iruka what was about to happen, and he felt all his nerves inflame into waves of heat. Oh God, yes...yes...

Kakashi kneeled in front of Irukas hips, his eyes never leaving the chuunin's. He looked hungry, he looked excited; he looked soft and caring. He slid his fingers inside Iruka, pushing his fingertips against him as he moved inside. Iruka inhaled loudly, his back arching slightly. He moaned Kakashi's name.

Kakashi began a slow, steady rhythm. Very slowly, he pushed in and he pulled out. In...out...slowly...

Iruka's legs were shaking. He was panting.

"Kakashi...haaaa...yes...oh..."

In...out...in...

"Kakashi...faster, please..."

Kakashi smirked. He kept his slow pace. He pushed his fingers up against the walls of Iruka as he pulled out. Iruka's back arched higher. He gripped the sheets again.

"_Kakashi!"_

In...out..._slowly._

Iruka was beside himself.

"Pleasepleaseplease!"

Kakashi stopped. He removed his fingers and oiled himself. Iruka did his best not to whimper.

The jounin lifted Iruka's hips, spread his thighs and positioned himself. Slowly, he slipped into Iruka. The chuunin was so wound up, every inch Kakashi moved in felt like liquid fire pouring into him.

"OOoohhh...YES..."

Kakashi hooked Irukas thighs around his waist and bent over, pressing his chest against Irukas. The chuunin wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck and kissed him reverently. Kakashi kissed back as he rocked his hips, pushing deep inside of Iruka and slowly, slowly pulling out.

"Ahhhh...ahh!"

Iruka felt like he was going mad. There was an intense, burning sensation building up in the pit of his stomach. He felt constant electric jolts of pleasure spiralling up his back and exploding into the base of his skull. Every single nerve was on edge. He was so pent up from so much teasing, he felt like Kakashi was driving him mad.

"Yes...YES...faster, please, please..." Iruka begged, moaned, whimpered. He dug his nails into Kakashis back so hard he broke skin. Kakashi's breath was ragged, but he continued his excruciatingly slow pace. Iruka clenched his thighs around the jounins waist. He bit, hard, into the crook of Kakashi's neck.

"FASTER!" He cried, seeing spots behind his eyes again. He really thought he was going to go insane.

Kakashi grabbed Irukas hands and pinned them to his sides again. Iruka squirmed, but he barely had any energy. Kakashi continued to penetrate him deep, but slow...so slow...

"STOP! Please, Kakashi...aahhh...please stop..."

Kakashi paused. He met Irukas eyes. He was grinning, but his expression was laden with heavy lust. He was sweating, his cheeks were flushed. He panted.

"That's...that's about three minutes, I'd say."

Iruka glared heatedly.

Kakashi let Irukas hands go and gripped his thighs again. He pulled him up at a sharp angle, adjusted his own weight, and gave Iruka exactly what he asked for. He penetrated him in one quick movement, pulled back, and slammed into him again.

"OH GOD!" Iruka cried, throwing his head back.

"...Haaa...YES, YES, YES!"

Iruka was frantic. Kakashi plunged into him, hitting his prostate fast and hard over and over. Iruka couldn't think at all. He wasn't even really seeing. He was just feeling.

He felt himself tipping over the edge. It was like a wall of heat smashed into him. He held his arms out –he wanted Kakashi close to him. The jounin obliged and scooped Iruka up, finishing him off curled over him. Iruka arched his back against Kakashi and cried out, then face buried in his shoulder. Kakashi came a moment later, much more gracefully with a light "Ah!".

They sagged against each other.

Iruka was completely out of it. Both men were panting heavily, completely spent. Iruka could still feel waves of pleasure assaulting his body, even after his orgasm.

Kakashi pulled out of him and lay back, on his side, next to Iruka. He gave himself a few deep breaths before twisting behind him and removing a face cloth from the night stand. He slowly, gently cleaned Iruka's abdomen. The chuunin hazily blinked up at him.

"I...take it back. You may actually be evil."

Kakashi just smirked. "I would say I didn't hear you complaining, but that would be lying."

They gazed at each other for a moment. Iruka pushed himself up on his arms and Kakashi dipped his head; they kissed softly.

When they pulled away, Iruka craned his eyebrow at the jounin. "I noticed you were prepared." He gestured with his chin towards the forgotten bottle of oil.

Kakashi shrugged innocently. "Is a ninja not supposed to be prepared?"

Iruka hit him on the arm.

Then he seemed to remember something.

"Wait...did you...uh...hear what happened with Rinjin at the door?" He asked with a slight blush. He sure as hell had no idea.

Kakashi waved it off. "Shizune-san took care of her, no need to worry."

Iruka blinked.

Did he just say Shizune?

No he didn't.

Kakashi grinned manically.

OH GOD!

"Sh-sh-SHIZUNE-SAN!?"

Again, Kakashi looked unperturbed. "I told you, they can't hear us; not to worry." He paused. "Well...maybe they could hear _you._ You're quite the little screamer, Iruka."

Iruka's head felt like it was going to explode. He was mortified.

He chose to ignore the comment about his volume so he wouldn't have to talk about it.

Even though it was KAKASHI'S damn fault...

"But...she...how...?"

"She's been the "doctor" who has looked after you during your tragic recovery period. Convenient, isn't it?"

Iruka just gaped.

Konoha...sent reinforcements?

"When..."

"We've been slowly infiltrating. There are a few more here; just to ensure there are no future problems for our village. I'm sure you'll see them soon."

"Ah..."

Iruka calmed down a bit. Kakashi generally didn't stress about ANYTHING, but if he wasn't worried about being utterly shamed in front of his comrades, Iruka supposed he shouldn't worry about it either.

Kakashi snaked his arms around Iruka's waist and pulled him against his body. The chuunin sighed and deflated against the feel of Kakashi around him.

"I want to spoon."

Iruka snorted. "I never would have guessed..."

Kakashi pulled them onto their sides.

"I don't do little spoon."

"To assume so would be madness!"

"Quiet. Nap now."

Iruka laughed. Kakashi had reverted back to his usual quirky self. Iruka wiggled back so he was comfortably 'spooned' against the jounin, before his eyes fluttered closed and he fell into a deep, satisfied sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

WELL! There yah have it. Sexy times. Hope you guys enjoyed...REALLYIHOPEYOUDID :O


	10. Chapter 10

Iruka woke up to the feeling of someone gently combing their fingers through his hair. It amazed him that he didn't react violently. He felt the warmth of Kakashi around him still; he figured that must have been what soothed him. Iruka still couldn't believe how soft his skin was.

He rolled over and smiled up at the jounin. He glanced sideways out the window and noticed, with joy, that it wasn't dark. It would have been completely irresponsible of them to sleep the entire day away when they were still on a mission.

"How long have you been up?" Iruka asked softly, as Kakashi absentmindedly continued to play with his hair.

"Mmm...half an hour?"

Iruka sat up, startled. "Wha? I'm sorry! You should have woken me..."

Kakashi grinned. "Sure...but you're so cute when you sleep."

Iruka flushed.

"Ah...Kakashi, I feel guilty. We should really be...doing something."

His grin widened. "We were doing something."

Iruka flushed even deeper.

"You know what I mean..."

Kakashi waved it off. "Maaa...nothing is going on. Everyone is terrified. Shoka hasn't left his room since he got back after the attack. Shizune-san says he doesn't even shower. Not sure what his logic is...must be a Mist thing."

Iruka laughed...maybe a little louder then he should have.

Kakashi caught it, and his grin turned impish. "So...even the sweet Iruka can enjoy other people's pain."

Iruka turned so red he was visible in infrared wavelengths.

"Ah-I..."

Kakashi laughed. "You need to stop making this so much fun for me." He purred, gathering Iruka into his arms.

Iruka swatted at him. "Don't blame me that you enjoy pushing other peoples bu-"

Kakashi captured Iruka's lips in a soft, lingering kiss. Iruka's train of thought was lost forever.

They broke the kiss slowly.

Their eyes locked and they gazed at each other.

Iruka grazed his fingers along Kakashi's jaw. He touched his lips. He wanted more.

Iruka kissed Kakashi's bottom lip. The jounin tilted his head down, and Iruka captured his lips fully. Their kisses were harder, but still lingering. Iruka began to feel the strong want burning in his groin.

Then, they heard it. Someone knocked at their door, obviously in code.

Knockknock...knock kock KOCK.

Two at the top, fast. Two at the bottom, slower. One loud one in the middle.

Kakashi sighed dejectedly and threw back the covers, climbing out of bed. He pulled his clothes on quickly and walked to the door.

Iruka couldn't see who was there, but Kakashi accepted something from them and shut the door. He read the message on the spot. He sighed, crumpled it up and shuffled back over to the bed.

"Back to reality..."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooo

Despite being called back to duty, Kakashi took his time leaving Iruka. He showered, changed clothes (Iruka still had Kakashi's belongings) and pawed at the chuunin whenever he got the chance.

Iruka most certainly was not complaining.

He had also handed Iruka his own little sheet of paper with his orders on it. Iruka had no idea who was waylaying the information from Konoha and back again, but it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside to think that his friends and comrades were close by. He had to admit, he'd been getting lonely the last two days.

Iruka, because he worried about people incessantly, had stuffed Kakashi's pockets and packs full of food. He had no idea where or when Kakashi ate anything other than ration bars and that was not okay with him; especially since he always had an excessive amount of gourmet food being delivered to his room. As it was, he still had food left over from before he'd been 'attacked'.

"I wish you would eat more while you're here, Kakashi...I don't think I can finish an entire fruit basket."

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm full. Can't eat too much; might have to run."

Iruka blanched. "Ah...right."

Kakashi grinned. "You've already packed me enough food for two days."

Iruka blushed. "Yes, well...you know."

The jounin had let him fuss over him with an amused, and very affectionate, expression.

Finally, Kakashi couldn't put it off any longer without feeling guilty himself. He stood by the window ledge, one leg propped up, and gestured Iruka over. The chuunin came to him smoothly. He didn't want to show any hesitance.

Except for one thing. "Ah, Kakashi...shouldn't we stay away from the window?"

Kakashi gave him a bored look. "Genjutsu."

"...Ah."

Damn. Kakashi had certainly been busy while Iruka was playing dead.

Kakashi's typical careless expression melted into something a little more serious.

"I'm not sure when I'll be able to come back. This leg of the mission is very open ended. It all depends on how our little pawns react." Kakashi explained softly.

Iruka's heart sank, although he wasn't surprised. "I feared so...please just be careful, Kakashi. Take care of yourself."

Kakashi had a habit of coming back to Konoha in rough shape. Iruka didn't think he'd be able to handle that.

The jounin gazed hard at Iruka. He took the chuunin's hand gently, and then yanked him over so their bodies collided. Iruka let out an elegant squeak. Kakashi wrapped his arm around his waist and held him tightly. It reminded Iruka, once again, of how strong he was.

"I could get used to that..." Kakashi whispered. He looked, almost longingly, down at Iruka.

Iruka felt himself swallow thickly. "Want me to say it again, then?"

Kakashi smiled. "Yes please."

Iruka blushed brilliantly. His stomach did chakra powered back flips.

"Ah...please, don't get hurt. Really."

"What do I get if I come back without a scratch?"

Iruka blinked.

"Wh-what?"

"If you motivate me, I'll take better care of myself."

Iruka gaped, adorably, up at Kakashi. He didn't think he had the ability to say something super sexy like Kakashi probably would. With Rinjin, it had almost been a joke. Kakashi, on the other hand, had the ability to make Iruka's mind sprout wings and abandon him for embarrassingly long periods of time.

Like right now.

"Ah...I'll...be happy?"

Slow clap for you, Iruka.

"Uh! And, umm, you can have whatever you want!" He added quickly. "I won't say no."

For a moment, Kakashi was totally expressionless. Iruka wilted slightly.

"Really? Anything?"

That made him perk up; until he realized that he was talking to Kakashi. He felt a deep dread build in his stomach.

"Ummm..."

"That works." Kakashi cut in before Iruka could change his mind.

The chuunin had no idea if it was possible, but he was sure he was blushing even harder. He actually felt dizzy.

"Ah...oh...okay. It's um. It's settled then." Iruka tried to laugh flippantly. It didn't work.

Kakashi shot Iruka a feral grin that promised him he was going to both love and regret his decision.

The chuunin felt his heart beat increase marginally.

"Well. I'm off, then. I have plenty of time to think about what I'm going to ask for."

"Ah...yes. Well, remember; you aren't allowed to be hurt at all. Not a scratch!"

Kakashi saluted him. "Noted. I'm not leaving without a goodbye kiss, though."

Iruka perked up a bit; that he could easily do.

He threw his arms around Kakashi's neck, bounced up onto his tip toes and kissed him happily. He felt Kakashi laugh softly for a moment against his lips before he kissed him back.

Iruka had intended for it to be a light, quick but firm kiss. He didn't realize how much their conversation had affected both of them. Within moments they were both panting, kissing each other hard and fast. Kakashi pressed Iruka up against the wall; Iruka raked his fingers across Kakashis skin.

They broke apart for air, breathing heavily and gazing at each other with lust laden eyes.

"Shit..." Kakashi cursed. He glanced at the bed.

Iruka caught it. "N-no...you have to go." He inwardly kicked himself. What was another...oh...20 minutes?

Kakashi considered his options. His shoulders dropped. "Yes. I do..."

He grinned.

"But first...I'm going to give you something to remember me by."

Iruka blinked. "Wha?"

Kakashi swooped in, pushed Iruka's head to the side and bit down on the crook of his neck.

"AHhh! Kakashi! Damnit!"

The jounin sucked hard then jumped back, smiling happily.

"There we go. Consider that my 'IOU'."

He waved cheerfully then leaped out of the window.

Iruka ran to his mirror. There was a dark, deep bruise forming already.

GOD DAMNIT. How the hell was he supposed to cover that up!?

Freakin jounin...

So...damn hot.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo

Iruka wandered down the hall of the hotel section of the convention. He had, thankfully, an outfit with a stiff collar that circled around his neck. Kakashi was one sly character...every time Iruka looked at the hickie, he thought longingly of the jounin; which is EXACTLY what Kakashi wanted.

Jerk.

Iruka couldn't help smirking to himself. Kakashi's personality was so different from his, but it was one of the things that made the chuunin so drawn to him.

His instructions had said that he was to make an effort to get his 'group' back together and get them talking again. Konoha would not withdraw from the convention until they were certain their village had no fear from the traders.

Or...you know, until the convention ended; which would make things more difficult for them.

It was basically the only reason Kakashi had spared Rinjin, Shoka and Hanko's lives; he wanted inside info on the 'status' of the boycott. If there were people operating outside of the convention, those three would know.

Iruka stopped outside of Shoka's hotel room. He figured he would spare himself the grief of Rinjin's company and pick her up last.

He knocked lightly.

"GO AWAY!" Came the startled cry from inside.

"Ah...Shoka? It's me, Myuki."

He heard a plate drop. He heard frantic footsteps. The door flew open.

"My...MYUKI!"

Shoka gathered Iruka up into a big, awkward bear hug.

Oh. NOW they were friends? Bet he was glad his shitty assassination attempt failed.

"I can't believe it; they said your chances of waking up were slim to none..."

Iruka patted Shoka on the back stiffly.

"Ah...yes, well. I feel light headed, but otherwise I'm alright."

Shoka pulled back and stared deep into Iruka's eyes with a slightly panicked twitch going on in the left side of his face.

"Too bad Shiiba can't say the same. I can't believe we're all alive."

Iruka took the opportunity. "Yes...but, it IS a good thing, isn't it? We can continue with our...plans."

Shoka screamed shrilly. Iruka jumped back.

"Are you CRAZY!? No way! Absolutely not! I don't wanna die!"

Iruka narrowed his eyes, obviously impatient. "Shoka...come on. You KNEW there were risks involved."

"YAH, sure, but not THIS early in the game! We hadn't even begun yet and someone found us out!"

Iruka sighed. "I thought you guys had things under control..."

Shoka looked furious. "OH. WELL! Look at YOU, all high and mighty. You almost got cut down too, you know! If it wasn't for the guards, you would have a gaping hole in your gut just like Shiiba! If you want to go ahead and get yourself killed, fine; I don't care. You can meet up with our contact in Konoha and figure it out yourself."

Iruka froze. What did he just say?

"Contact in Konoha? Hmmm...seems risky."

"THATS risky? Man, I thought you were a sucker coming on board with us so easily, but now I know that you're just insane." Shoka walked into his room. He came back out with a scroll. He slapped it into Iruka's hands.

"There. That's all you need to know. I've been sleeping on top of that scroll for days in case someone searched my room, but I didn't dare burn it. Have fun."

And with that, he slammed the door in Iruka's face. Iruka stared down at the scroll in shock.

He couldn't believe his luck.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo

Iruka tried not to look as tense as he felt as he traveled through the hotel in search of Hanko's room. He had read through the scroll; it was not good. They weren't kidding when they said they had a force of mercenaries at their beck and call. Not to mention there was a trader 'stopping over' in Konoha who was part of the whole thing and was basically the inside spy in the operation. Most of the commanders of the mercenaries had been at the convention and were now in body bags; however, there were at least two who stuck around their villages to smooth out details and give orders. Something had to be done about them.

Iruka needed to get this info to Konoha STAT. If they could capture the spy, Ibiki could get some excellent intel out of him for sure.

But how the hell was he supposed to do that?

Iruka rounded the corner, and stopped abruptly.

The UGLIEST woman he had ever seen was flouncing towards him. Well, not towards HIM, but just...in his general direction.

Iruka felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't very nice to judge her like that...imagine what her life must be like. She had to have been the most awkward looking little girl. Iruka had seen much more pleasant looking children get bullied; he couldn't imagine what she'd been through.

He kept walking and tried his absolute best not to stare at her.

Except that she was staring at him.

Nonononopleasenono...

"Ooohhh...what a good looking young man!"

Uugghh...why.

"Ah...good afternoon." Iruka added, as politely as he could without being too friendly. He tried to keep walking.

The woman stuck her arm out in front of Iruka. She was holding a garish pink fan. She wiggled it.

"Come now, you wouldn't leave a lady like me by myself, would you?"

Her voice sounded like...Iruka didn't even know. It was horrible. It sounded like an old lady who had inhaled excessive amounts of smoke in a house fire and had never recovered.

He gulped. He knew his character would be curt and storm off, but Iruka couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Ah...I am sorry, but I have plans I need to uphold."

He was trying his best not to look at her face, but it seemed she was going to make that difficult. She spun around (yes...spun), her skirt flaring alarmingly around her legs, until she was standing directly in front of the chuunin.

Iruka tried to keep his face neutral.

She was even more hideous up close.

Her body...it was boxy. Like a mans.

Wait.

Those eyebrows...

The lady stuck her face right into Iruka's.

No one else on earth had those eyebrows...

G-

GAI-SENSEI!?

Iruka's jaw dropped. Gai saw the look of recognition in Iruka's eyes and grinned.

"Aaaahhh...I see that your plans have changed!" He exclaimed, his attempt at a womans voice enough to shatter thick glass. "Then let us continue this way!"

Without another word, Gai hooked his arm around Irukas and dragged the stunned chuunin down the hall.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo

Amongst startled stares of the ridiculously odd couple, they finally made it to whatever destination Gai was practically ripping Iruka's arm off to get to.

When he opened the door and ushered the chuunin inside, Iruka could see that it was just Gai's hotel room. He must have loaded it with wards as well for him to feel safe to talk here.

Iruka turned slowly to regard the other shinobi. He couldn't believe he was here. He couldn't believe he was dressed, unsuccessfully, as a woman.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Gai exclaimed, throwing his body into one of his favourite poses. It looked ten times as ridiculous as usual with him dressed up the way he was. His wig flew off in his frenzy.

"Ah...Gai-sensei. What a surprise! But...um...why are you...ah...?" Iruka couldn't even go there.

"HAHAHAHA! My disguise! I could not risk anyone recognizing me for my great and powerful self! I chose to go..." He whipped into another pose "...INCOGNITO!"

Well. That made...sense.

"Of course; how clever." Iruka replied earnestly, smiling brightly. He WAS glad to see the man; he had always respected Gai for his warm heart and his dedication. He was just a bit...much sometimes.

"Iruka-sensei!" Gai suddenly turned serious. He zoomed in, stopping uncomfortably close to Iruka. The chuunin blinked rapidly and took a tiny step back.

"What news have you? Has the situation worsened? How long have you been awake?"

Iruka snapped to attention. Damn, this was actually perfect!

"Ah, Gai-sensei! I have very important information I need someone to bring back to Konoha as soon as possible." He reached into the folds of his sleeves and pulled the scroll out. "Here –I'm sure you can find a way to get it home. There's apparently a spy in Konoha who is working for the traders. This scroll outlines his code name, and where he's supposed to be frequenting. It also-"

Iruka gasped. Gai had pulled him in for an incredibly painful hug. He coughed.

"G-Gai...sen...sei..."

"IRUKA-SENSEI! You are amazing! You have really done us all proud!" He dropped the poor teacher, snatching the scroll out of his hand in the process.

Iruka wheezed.

"Truly, you have outdone yourself this mission. You have the social prowess of a true diplomat! Tsunade-sama should keep you close to her at all times!"

Iruka blushed furiously. "Ah, Gai-sensei. Really, it's nothing..."

"NONSENSE!" He boomed. "I will not stand for you to lower your skills in your own eyes! You have saved your village with your wit and your charming personality!"

Iruka blushed further. It really was flattering for someone of Gai's level to have such an opinion of him. It's just...he was so...MUCH.

"Gai-sensei, I thank you." Iruka said, simply. He knew better then to argue with Gai at this point.

Gai nodded curtly, satisfied.

"And now...I will bring this ever so important message back to our beloved village!"

He held the scroll aloft.

"YOU CAN TRUST ME IRUKA-SENSEI! I WILL BE THERE AND BACK IN A FLASH!"

And then...

He was gone.

Iruka blinked.

He wasn't kidding about the flash thing...


	11. Chapter 11

Iruka dedicated what was left of his day trying to round up the two remaining merchants. He was successful in finding Hanko in his room, but he was just as petrified as Shoka and refused to speak of the boycott for at least another two days.

Iruka sighed and resigned himself to his fate; the only person left was Rinjin.

He comforted himself in the fact that the chances of success with her were significantly higher than the others. Mainly because she had made the effort to come to his room on her own; so clearly she wasn't nearly as scared as the others.

He was just a little worried about what other reasons she could have had for seeking him out.

After his absolutely amazing night with Kakashi, Iruka wasn't sure he'd be able to handle Rinjin kissing him without gagging. The comparison bracket was just...there weren't even words.

He stopped in front of her door. He took a moment to brace himself. He inhaled deeply, paused and exhaled slowly, trying to think of everyone he cared about in Konoha who could potentially get hurt if he didn't complete his mission to the fullness of his capabilities.

That did it.

He knocked on the door.

There was no answer. He steeled himself again.

"Rinjin...? It's Myuki."

The door FLEW open.

"MYUKI! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

Rinjin positively LAUNCHED herself at Iruka, smacking into him and sending the chuunin stumbling backwards. He braced himself against the wall of the hallway and tried not to look annoyed at the ball of mess in his arms.

"IMSOHAPPYYOURAWAKEOHMYGODIVE BEENSOLONELYANDSCARED!"

Iruka considered the fact that Rinjin might be bipolar. There was no other explanation for suddenly worshipping the existence of someone you had previously paid to snuff off the earth not three days before.

"Ah, it's alright, Rinjin. You can calm down, we're all safe now."

Rinjin jerked her head up and gazed, doe eyed, into Iruka's eyes. "Oh Myuki, you're always so composed! I remember how you were when that beast attacked us; I've never been so in LOVE!"

Iruka felt the blood drain from his face.

Oh my God.

Please no. Please. Please just no.

"...Ah..." Iruka had no idea how to come back from that.

Rinjin kept going. "The others were a complete mess, but you stood up to that bloodthirsty bastard! And you managed to recover from your coma! You're like a prince from a fairy tale!"

UUGHHHHNOOOOOOOO!

"Myuki...I...I want to be with you!" Rinjin declared, clasping her hands together and gazing up at him imploringly.

Iruka gathered his wits. He needed information from Rinjin; so he couldn't completely shoot her down. Knowing her, she'd lose her shit or something. If that was the case, she'd never tell him anything.

If there was even something to tell.

"Rinjin...I had no idea." Start neutral first; work his way from there. That was the plan so far.

Rinjin pursed her lips, fluttered her eye lashes and curved her back so her ass stuck out behind her. "Well, I don't just give my heart to anyone, Myuki."

Suuuuure there.

Iruka had never remembered judging someone so harshly in his life; and he didn't even feel bad about it.

"Rinjin. With the boycott going on...there's just no time. Think of all the plans we have to make, with this mess getting in the way." Iruka said this as softly as he possibly could, so it wouldn't spark Rinjins rejection meter and potentially cause a scene.

Rinjin shook her head. "Don't think about the boycott; it isn't going to happen at this rate. Most of the merchants with the most power and money were slaughtered. Without them, the others won't have the support to keep everything going. There's no way they'd be insane enough to try by themselves."

Iruka felt hope flare in his soul, but he couldn't give in so easily.

"Ah, but, surely there must be someone left who could help us?"

Rinjin sighed, obviously unhappy with the direction the conversation was going. "Yes, well, technically there are two left in Mist who were supposed to be in charge of overseeing the mercenaries. They are ZERO help to us at this point; without the support of the others, they can't possibly hold onto their forces."

Iruka felt giddy inside. If what Rinjin said was true...then they could all go home soon.

And that meant...

Iruka blushed faintly.

Rinjin took it the wrong way.

"Oh, Myuki! You're so sweet!" She leaned in for a kiss.

Iruka jerked back in surprise. Damnit! He let his guard down for ONE second. "Ah! Wait, Rinjin. I invested a lot of money into this deal. I don't want to just give up; there has to be a way it can still happen."

Rinjin seemed to recoil a bit at that; from what Iruka saw, it looked like fear.

"Ah...aha...well, you can get all of your money back! I mean, you traded with us, and we're still here. So...I just have to get the papers from Shoka before he cashes them. And then...maybe...we could be together?"

Iruka regarded Rinjin for a moment. They had half a fortune, with one less person to split it with, which Rinjin was fully prepared to kill Iruka for. Now, suddenly, she was willing to give it back to him? For...what? A promise that they'd "be together?"

A light bulb went off.

So Rinjin's boycott plan failed, and now she was going to try gold digging? Classy.

He considered his options. One...completely reject Rinjin, avoid any homicidal attacks she throws at him and revel in the feel of her crushed ego. Two...give her some neutral response to buy himself time just in case he still needed to be on her good side.

Sigh.

"Rinjin. You must understand; this is all happening very fast. I need time to think."

Rinjin perked up. "Of course, of course! Why, I would never push myself onto someone. Take your time, Myuki. But..." she looked away, with obvious forced bashfulness. She fluttered her eyelashes again. "But, know this...my heart yearns for you. I'll...give you anything you want."

She pulled the collar of her shirt down, revealing the top of her cleavage.

"..._Anything._"

Iruka thought it was pretty senseless to bargain with something you were willing to give away for free.

"Ah...I will definitely be thinking about that tonight." He replied smoothly, giving Rinjin a bit of a sly smile before gently pushing her away and walking down the hall.

He held his breath, waiting for her to come after him.

She didn't. He heard her door shut behind her.

He exhaled, absolutely elated. He'd dodged that kunai; for now.

He could not WAIT to tell Kakashi about this conversation; he'd freakin' love it.

Well...whenever it was that he saw him again, he thought with a pang of pain.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

It was getting late by the time Iruka left Rinjin, so he headed back to his room to eat his dinner.

He was there for around a minute before he heard the brisk knock that signalled room service. He hid a kunai in his sleeves, just in case, and answered.

Grilled fish...score.

Iruka sat down to eat, readying his chop sticks. He wondered if Kakashi was eating. He should still have some of the food Iruka gave him at this point, unless he had more of an appetite then he let on.

_I hope he isn't uncomfortable, wherever he is. _

Iruka glanced around his lavish hotel room, feeling incredibly guilty.

He sighed and broke off a piece of his fish. Before he put it in his mouth, he paused.

He sure hoped it wasn't poisoned...

Iruka glanced down at his meal. He hadn't really been checking ANY of his food; he had completely forgotten. Iruka had literally never had to worry about it before.

He sniffed the fish gingerly. He had the basics in poison training, so he'd be able to tell if it was off if it was done by anyone of his level or lower. He assumed no jounins would be trying to bump him off; no one had the money for that that would care to try.

Well. Fingers crossed!

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo

Iruka was twenty minutes into his mission report when he heard a coded knock at his door. He glanced up, beyond excited. He didn't actually know what the code meant, but it was the same one he'd heard when Kakashi had been there. Normally you wouldn't use the same codes over and over, but anyone who was in the loop would know Iruka hadn't been debriefed on any of their coding systems.

He got up and approached cautiously.

"Myukiiiiiiii?" He heard a horribly imitated women's voice sing to him. He grinned; it was definitely Gai.

Reassured, he opened the door. As he thought, it was Gai. He was positioned, quite unattractively, in what he assumed was supposed to be a flirty feminine pose.

He looked like a confused flamingo.

Iruka smiled brightly.

"Oh...ah?" He realized he did not know Gai's code name.

"Teetella!" Gai offered, fanning himself.

Wha...what on earth?

"Umm. Come in!" Iruka stepped aside to let Gai through; he was not going to repeat that awful name.

The jounin swirled into his room, the skirt of his kimono billowing behind him.

Iruka had never seen something so amazingly horrible in his life. He kind of wished he had the sharingan so he could capture it forever.

Iruka liked that one of the most elite in the village was also one of the strangest and friendliest.

The chuunin shut the door to his hotel room and followed Gai inside. "It is good to see you again, Gai-sensei. I'm assuming you reached the village safely?"

Gai whirled around to face him. "YES! It was most successful! Tsunade-sama acted quickly, as usual. I stayed but a little while, and yet in the time I was there they had apprehended the sneaky spy and had him locked up in the interrogation tower!"

Iruka beamed. "Wow! He wasn't hard to spot, then?"

"QUITE the opposite, dear Iruka-sensei! He was the only trader visiting our village at the time." Gai snorted loudly. "FOOL! He should have considered that in his plans."

Suddenly, Gai snapped shut his fan and threw himself into a pose, his hips and ass jutting out so far in the opposite direction of the rest of his body that Iruka was actually impressed at his flexibility.

"THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST AND THE CHARMING ACADEMY SENSEI MAKE A DYNAMIC PAIR!"

Iruka blushed. "Ah...yes, I really am grateful for your presence, Gai-sensei."

"IT IS MOST ENJOYABLE DEFENDING OUR BELOVED KONOHA WITH SUCH A DEDICATED SHINOBI!"

Gai jumped up, spun around, and snapped into another pose. One knee on the ground, arm jabbed into the air, hips surprisingly thrust considering his angle.

"BUT! Enough of the pleasantries!" His face turned serious; which was actually impossible because he was wearing an obscene amount of makeup.

"I have news for you, Iruka-sensei. Not only did we apprehend the spy, but we also have orders to find the mercenaries and the remaining merchants who were part of the Evil Plot Against Konoha and make sure they pose no threat to our village."

"Ah! Gai-sensei, I spoke to Rinjin today. She says there isn't enough financial support for the boycott to continue."

Gai shook his head. "No good! We have our orders. Tsunade-sama is very serious about making sure we have nothing to fear in the future. Myself and my Eternal Rival shall travel to Mist and secure Konoha's future!"

Iruka cocked his head. "Your eternal rival?"

That did it.

Gai grabbed his wig and whipped it across the room. He jabbed his fan in Iruka's direction. He clenched his hand into a tight fist, his face glowing with intensity.

"YES IRUKA-SENSEI! HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT THE RIVALRY THAT SHAKES KONOHA TO ITS VERY FOUNDATIONS?"

Fireworks exploded in the background. Iruka leaped back, confused.

" KAKASHI, HIP AND COOL AS HE IS, IS THE PERSON I HAVE DESIGNATED TO DEFEAT IN EVERY POSSIBLE AREA UNTIL THE DAY I CEASE TO BREATHE!"

Ooohhh...SO many things made sense now.

Iruka fought hard not to laugh. This must be a one sided rivalry, as Iruka could not imagine Kakashi caring enough about how other people compared to him to compete with them so intensely.

"Ah, yes, I see."

Then, he paused. Wait. Kakashi was going to Mist?

...Oh.

"SO! Tsunade-sama says that you are to secure the convention until you deem it unnecessary to continue. Shizune-san shall remain here with you, as you will need someone to watch your back while you use your Adorable Sensei Whiles to gather information."

Iruka's entire head turned red. ADORABLE?

"THEN! My Eternal Rival and I shall penetrate the evil corruption of Mist and ensure that all of the cute children of Konoha can grow strong UNHINDERED BY DEPRAVATION!"

Iruka felt his stomach clench. Who knew how long Kakashi would be in Mist. Who knew what they would face there...

"Ah, Gai-sensei, is two people really enough?"

Gai sighed. "It is all we can spare, Iruka-sensei. Also, this must be a stealth mission. Teams of two are preferred for that."

"Ah..." He swallowed a sigh. Come on, Iruka. This was for the good of all.

He still felt terrible.

Mist didn't exactly have the most fabulous track record as a village. Imagine how they treated ninja invading their borders without permission.

Iruka bit his lip with worry. Damnit...Kakashi would be risking his life while HE floated around a comfortable convention and ate lavish food. The worst Iruka had to deal with was Rinjin; Kakashi had to keep himself from getting tortured and killed.

Gai seemed to sense Iruka's displeasure at the thought of the two jounin going to Mist (it was written on Iruka's face, plain as day) and his countenance softened.

"Iruka-sensei; it is a standard mission. Kakashi and I have done it many times before."

Iruka absolutely glowed red. He was like a Chinese lantern in the dead of night.

"A-ah! Of, ah, of course! I apologize; you and Kakashi-err, Kakashi-san, are very skilled. I suppose I'm just not used to so much happening in such a short amount of time. Please excuse me."

Gai, returning to his 'normal' self, threw his hands onto his hips, tossed his head back and laughed loudly.

"HA HA HA! IRUKA-SENSEI IS THE EPITOME OF POLITENESS! I was not offended, but merely sought to comfort you!"

Gai jumped up and zoomed over to Iruka. His entire face was carved into a deadly serious expression. Shadows covered his forehead in ways that were physically impossible given the lighting in the room.

"Iruka-sensei. I do hereby promise you, as Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, that the mission shall go without a hitch and my Eternal Rival and I shall return to you in near-perfect condition, or else I shall run around the entire village 500 times carrying steaming hot miso soup!"

Iruka blinked up at Gai in surprise. He barely knew the man, and yet he was going out of his way -500 laps out of his way –to make Iruka feel better?

The chuunin smiled affectionately at Gai. He liked him even better than before.

"Gai-sensei, you are very kind. I would appreciate the two of you returning safely very much; although you don't have to punish yourself, especially considering you'll probably be inj-"

"NONSENSE!" Gai cut in, jabbing a finger in the air. "THERE IS NO EXCUSE! 500 LAPS!"

"...Ah...well..."

"IT IS SETTLED!"

Gai flew to the door. "Until next time, Sweet Iruka-Sensei! Shizune-san shall be by shortly to speak with you!"

In a flash, he was gone.

The room seemed to wilt slightly in his absence.

Iruka felt a little sad at the loss of the jounin's presence. He was intense and over the top, but he was kind and he was a comrade. Iruka had never spent so much time in hostile territory before; he wasn't used to having no one to talk to, or having to lie so much.

He sighed and slowly walked to his bed, sitting down on it dejectedly. Kakashi...at least, now, he had Gai with him.

He missed the copy-nin so much it worried him.

He sighed and closed his eyes, lying back on the bed. There was no point in focusing only on the negative; the mission had to be completed.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

Iruka slowly blinked his eyes open. He squinted at the bright light pouring into the room. What the...it should be getting darker, not brighter.

He shot up. Oh crap! He'd fallen asleep!

Some shinobi he was.

He scrambled off the bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He couldn't believe he fell asleep so early...

He washed himself in the bathroom and then returned to the bed, trying to plan out his next move. He hoped Shizune hadn't come by and tried to talk to him; although if she knocked, he definitely would have woken up.

He noticed something on the bed that didn't belong; it was a leaf.

It felt like someone punched his stomach into his brain.

Kakashi...?

He slowly walked over to the bed, leaned over, and pressed his fingers against the green object with bated breath.

It poofed away in a cloud of smoke, revealing a scroll.

Iruka snatched it up and ripped it open.

_Myuki,_

_I believe "Teetella" told you about our next move. I have to say I wasn't expecting it; but it makes sense. We should only be gone a week, at most. Don't worry -I still remember our deal, and I intend to keep my promise. I've had way too much fun thinking about what you're going to 'give me' to throw it all away now._

Iruka had to admit, he was a little nervous about that. Kakashi didn't seem to care about the chuunin's decency; probably because he didn't have much himself.

_Most importantly –don't worry about us. I already knew you would, but our… 'feminine' friend confirmed it._

Iruka blushed hotly. Oh great, Gai told him about their conversation. He was so embarrassed.

_It's weird for me to admit this to someone, especially in writing, but I'm disappointed in myself. One of the main objectives of my mission was to watch over you, always. Clearly I haven't upheld my end of the bargain. You made me promise to be safe; I'm asking you to do the same. I always intend well, but I seem to be bad at upholding valiant attempts to protect my friends. I always seem to do alright for myself, but I've left a lot of people behind who I still miss horribly; possibly to an unhealthy extent. Don't add yourself to that list. I don't think I'd be able to handle it._

_You don't want me to become like Teetella, do you? Picture it. The wig and everything._

_Actually, I take something back; feel free to worry about me. Then, when I get back, tell me how much you worried about my safety while you fret over me and make me food and then promise to do whatever you can to make me feel better. I will accept tears of relief._

_I have this all planned out in my head; It's been a long week._

_Pookieface._

There was a part at the bottom that seemed very hastily added in, like he was balancing the scroll on his leg or the wall.

_p.s. You should take it easy; sleeping on top of the bed, fully clothed, doesn't seem like your style. Actually, you scared the shit out of me; I thought you'd been poisoned or something. I fully expect to be compensated for that later._

Iruka couldn't help himself; he reread the letter twice. Kakashi made his heart swell, made him laugh and made him shake his head in disbelief all in the same letter. He grazed his eyes over the sentence that affected him the most; _Don't add your name to that list. I don't think i'd be able to handle it._ It made Iruka wonder how hard it was for Kakashi to let anyone in, considering how many people he had lost. The chuunin had actually been extremely surprised at the amount the normally incredibly private jounin was opening up; especially to show so much concern for his safety. Iruka was either in a lot more danger then he surmised, or Kakashi genuinely cared about him.

He felt his heart start to race; he didn't know what was so special about him that he could get the Copy-nin's attention the way he had. It almost seemed surreal.

Maybe they would get back to the village and Kakashi would pretend nothing had ever happened between them...

He squashed the thought. Not only was it intensely painful to think that way, but it also seemed out of character for Kakashi. He was a very brave, loyal person. What purpose would he have to do that to Iruka? Cowards acted that way, and the last thing Kakashi was was a coward.

He sighed, still holding the letter. Thinking of Kakashi made so many feelings flutter through his heart that they were hard to sort through. Fear was in there; but it was fear for his wellbeing. The one that seemed to stand out amongst the others was intense affection. When he thought of Kakashi, he couldn't help but smile. His whole heart seemed to flood with warmth.

He so desperately wished Kakashi had woke him up when he'd came to him the other night, but he supposed there was no time.

He glanced over the letter one last time then, very regretfully, whispered 'pakkun' and watched it crumple up into nothing.

He wished he could talk to him…

He started.

Kakashi had written him three letters (although one was unhelpfully short). Why couldn't Iruka write him one? The chances of it reaching him at this point where basically zero, but he'd try.

He fished inside his pack for parchment and a pen. Maybe Shizune had a contact that could get it to him.

He stopped. As if someone would risk capture to get a freakin LOVE letter to Kakashi in Mist. He was actually losing his mind.

Well…whatever. He'd write it anyway. Stranger things have happened.

He sat down, connected pen to parchment, and all of a sudden his arm was flying over the paper like it had a mind of its own.

_Pookieface_,

_All I want is for you to be safe. I have no problems admitting that I miss your company, and as I write that, I realize exactly how much. Nothing is the same now. However, that is NOT your fault, so please stop blaming yourself. Things happen; I understand that. I've messed up much worse before, which you were unfortunately there to witness._

_I keep worrying about you, so just take care of yourself and I'll be happy. Despite what people think, I am NOT a crier, so I can't guarantee you sweet lady like tears of happiness at your return. I can give you everything else you asked for, though. I will feed you until you physically cannot ingest another morsel of food, if you dare to come back with a single scratch I will tend to it as if it was a horrible life threatening stab wound. But most importantly, I will do my best to make you forget where you were. All you'll know is warmth, because warmth is what you deserve. I hope you believe that._

_I appreciate everything you have given me so far. I can only assume how rare it is for you to be so personal with someone from how private you usually are. I truly hope I can continue to make you feel comfortable, as I have never felt safer then when I'm with you._

_Sincerely,_

_McScreamy_

Iruka snickered to himself. He couldn't believe he just referred to himself as 'McScreamy'. Kakashi's sense of humor must have been rubbing off on him.

He rolled up the scroll and sealed it with a simple secrecy seal. There was nothing discriminating in the letter what-so-ever, so he didn't feel the need to code it heavily.

Not that he was ever actually going to get it to Kakashi.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!"

"AHHH!"

Iruka leapt out of his chair and jumped into the middle of the room, his pen raised threateningly above his head. When he realized who was at his window, he was almost beside himself with shock.

It was Gai-sensei.

"Ah, I seem to have forgotten my wig! It is quite important in keeping up appearances!"

Iruka wasn't going to ask how he had gotten around without it up until this point because he was just BESIDE himself with joy at his incredible luck. He had assumed Gai and Kakashi were at least half way to Mist by now.

As the jounin picked up his discarded item, Iruka cleared his throat and attempted to sound as casual as possible.

"Ah, Gai-sensei. It is actually convenient that you're here; would you mind giving this to Kakashi-san for me?"

Gai blinked down and the scroll and took it from his hands swiftly. "Of course! Is it new intel?"

He blushed slightly. "Well…it isn't anything TERRIBLY important…"

Gai stared. "So, it is not intel?"

"….Not exactly."

Gai continued to stare questioningly.

"Well, it's just that I haven't seen him in a while. We WERE on a mission together, so it's just some things I wanted to discuss with him."

Iruka was actually really proud of himself for sounding so nonchalant.

Gai stuffed the scroll into his waist pack. "Understandable! Comradeship is extremely important amongst shinobi!"

Iruka smiled. "I completely agree, Gai-sensei."

PHEW.

"Alright, Iruka-sensei! Take care! We are terribly behind schedule!"

Once again, he was gone in a flash.

Iruka wondered if his parents were gunning for him on this mission; he had had way too much luck so far.

Well. Technically, Kakashi still being with him would have been the BEST situation, but one can't be too picky with these things.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooo


	12. Chapter 12

PHEW. My longest chapter yet. I wasn't expecting it to be this long, but I kept thinking of stuff and there was never a good place to end it. Enjoy!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

Kakashi sat in the darkness, his back to Gai. He was on guard duty for the next three hours, although it was apparent from the other jounins chakra signs that he had not tried to sleep yet. They had been running for the last two hours, so Gai probably needed to unwind first.

He finished reading Iruka's letter. His expression was lost in the dark, although there was no one around to see it anyway. He had made up his mind long ago that no matter how much a terrified voice deep in his soul begged him to run, that he was going to stick this out. Logically, he had no choice. He was intensely attracted to Iruka, and the chuunin made him feel safe and at ease in a way no one had been able to that he could remember. To run from him would only be torturing them both, and Kakashi's genius could not see logic in that option. He had spent the last week trying everything in his power to protect Iruka; hurting him for such a pathetic reason would just be insane.

Kakashi had tried to pinpoint what it was about the chuunin that seeped inside of his defences, gently grabbed hold of him and dragged him out. He decided it was mostly the fact that Iruka was, to a fault, one of the nicest people he'd ever met. Not in the annoying way Kakashi had no respect for; Iruka's very BEING existed solely to do the right thing. It embodied itself in how truly devoted to his village he was, and how much he honestly cared about each and every one of his students.

Kakashi felt safe around Iruka because it was impossible not to; the chuunin did not have a vindictive bone in his body. He would never betray Kakashi, would never deliberately lie to him. He was a shinobi like Kakashi; he understood him, as well as anyone really could (which...well, it was possible). He had a strong connection to his students; he cared about them like Kakashi did.

When Kakashi really got thinking on Iruka, he couldn't STOP listing things that drew him to the chuunin. He'd never met anyone who was so sweet and yet such a terror; he would blush like a school girl if anyone complimented him, and yet he would rip your head off if you handed in a messy mission report. He stuttered when the conversation got too sexual for his polite countenance to handle; yet he would take a giant shuriken to the back without blinking to protect a student he barely knew, who had done nothing but cause him problems.

THAT one had shocked the village; someone almost dying to protect Naruto. You really had to respect a man like that. Iruka was fiercely brave, loyal and devoted. Yet he had one of the thickest backbones Kakashi had ever seen.

However...Kakashi knew it wasn't the thought of betrayal that scared him. Actually, it had nothing to do with Iruka. When he thought of it, it felt like it was boiling up out of the pit of his stomach, up through his chest, and if he didn't stop it, it would escape into his brain and then he'd never be the same again. So, he fought it down. He fought it down with his entire self. He was starting to feel it now; it was a horrifying mixture of self loathing, fear, loneliness and uncertainty. He paused in his thoughts to contain the darkness down in his gut where it belonged.

Kakashi glanced down at Iruka's letter. He felt his heart warm so much it hurt him. It drowned out the blackness that threatened to take over. Iruka made Kakashi feel truly cared for. The jounin could not remember the last time someone genuinely asked him to stay safe, not counting Tsunade barking it at him before he left for a mission (although he knew how much Tsunade cared for him as well). The chuunin had told him he deserved warmth...

Did he really?

He felt like he had never accomplished anything.

What if he got close to Iruka...and then...failed him like everyone else. The way Iruka made him feel, now...how much worse would that feel if they grew their attachment? He was supposed to be a genius, yet he couldn't even successfully train a group of genin (he supposed Naruto turned out quite well, but he felt like he had almost no hand in that. He had neglected him for Sasuke, and he resented himself for it). What hope did he have at a relationship?

Kakashi stopped himself. He had already decided he wasn't going to think like that. It was too late now; whatever happened, happened.

He squared his shoulders in resolve. He wasn't getting any closer to Iruka sitting around like this.

"Gai?" He asked, turning his head slightly.

He noticed movement in the darkness; Gai had lifted his head silently.

"How are you feeling?"

Kakashi could see Gai's brilliant white teeth shine in the moonlight as he grinned.

"Well enough to get the hell out of here, if that's what you're thinking."

Kakashi stood. "I am."

Gai followed suit. "Then let's go."

They went.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooo

Iruka spent the next day avoiding Rinjin and trying to gather intel from others in the convention. Most people just displayed shock and horror at the merciless killings, and either had no idea about the boycott or was too afraid to talk about it.

By dinner time, Iruka was starting to lose his voice. He wandered back up to his hotel room for some food and tea, trying to gather his thoughts from the day. When he turned the corner to the hall that lead to his room, he noticed a woman was walking towards him. She had black hair that was tied into two tight buns on the top of her head, thick glasses that obscured her eyes and was wearing a standard nurse uniform. A light went off in Iruka's head; did Kakashi not say that Shizune was playing the role of his caretaker?

Just as he thought that, the woman smiled at him. "Ah, my elusive patient. It isn't very nice to make people worry."

That was most definitely Shizune's voice, and as she approached, Iruka confirmed it visually; she was well disguised, but it was definitely her. Iruka felt giddy inside at the idea of being with another shinobi from Konoha.

Iruka and Shizune made their way back to the chuunins room, where they made fake light conversation before closing the door and securing their privacy. Shizune whipped off her glasses.

"AH! I'm going to go blind if I'm not careful..." She rubbed her eyes in discomfort. "I'm certain we could have figured something out with a jutsu, but it was all just so rushed."

Iruka laughed good-naturedly. "I can imagine; Konoha really impresses me with the speed it responds to this mission. I know the convention isn't far from the village, but still..."

Shizune grinned at him. "Well, we didn't have any choice; we certainly weren't expecting to receive so much information so fast. You dropped one bomb on us after another."

Iruka blushed, but Shizune's grin told him it was obviously a compliment. She walked over to his bed and sat on the edge elegantly, folding her hands into her lap. She sighed. "So good to sit down...since I'm one of the only capable healers here, I've actually had my hands full. However, it did give me a good excuse to speak to quite a few traders. From what I've gathered, we have nothing to worry about. Kakashi really put a dent in their plans." She said the last bit with a smile, obviously impressed with the jounin.

Iruka couldn't help but smile as well at the thought of Kakashi. "Yes, it has truly been a pleasure working with him."

Shizune cocked her head. "Have you spoken to Gai-sensei? Do you know about their new mission?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes..." he answered simply, not really enjoying the thought of Kakashi in Mist.

Shizune regarded him intently. "So. You noticed his...disguise?"

They both looked at each other.

They burst out laughing.

They laughed until it physically hurt them to continue. Shizune was curled up in a little ball on the bed. "H-h-he looks like a street performer who g-got hit in the face with a frying pan, hahaha! His makeup is splattered all over his face, haha!"

Well, that did it. They were both beside themselves for another minute.

There came a light knock at the door.

"Room service!"

Well, that helped them control themselves. Shizune sat up on the bed and casually snuck her arm into her sleeve, preparing her poison darts. She nodded at Iruka.

The chuunin opened the door to reveal a servant carrying a delicious smelling tray. Iruka took it from him with his thanks. "Ah, I have a guest with me; could you send up another dinner for her?"

The servant peeked into the room, then grinned at Iruka and elbowed him in the side lightly. "Ah, a 'guest', I see. Yes, of course!" He winked, then left.

Iruka blinked. What was that?

He shrugged and shut the door.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

The two of them talked amiably over their dinners. Shizune was excellent with poisons and was able to confirm, without a doubt, that no one was trying to kill them via grilled chicken and vegetables. They spoke of their intel over the last day and how they were certain that they could deem the convention secure and be on their way in, at the most, one more day.

Iruka told Shizune all about Rinjin, and absolutely revelled in the disgusted look on the other woman's face.

"Honestly; some women, no respect for themselves..." Shizune tutted, and Iruka laughed.

"Yes, well. She seems to respect money quite fondly, so I guess there isn't room for much else."

They decided they would take one more jab at Rinjin before calling that trio a lost cause and hitting the road back to the village.

Iruka was thoroughly grateful for Shizune's company; he had never spoken to her much in Konoha, but after this mission, he intended to change that if he could. She was constantly around Tsunade, but Iruka spent a lot of time there at the mission desk anyway.

They chatted well until the evening, Shizune obviously starved for quality companionship as much as Iruka was. They decided they would part ways tonight, but would meet up again at dinner tomorrow to pool together their info and make their final decision.

Regrettably, they said their goodbyes and Shizune left for her own quarters.

Iruka slept the best he had since Kakashi was with him.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooo

The next day at the convention proved as anticlimactic as the last. Iruka surmised that their last chance truly was Rinjin; if there was nothing to fear from what she said, then they could call it Mission Accomplished and head back.

And he could FINALLY REJECT HER.

He was mildly disappointed in himself that the thought of crushing Rinjin's inflated ego gave him more satisfaction then the idea of going home.

He arrived at her room and knocked on her door. She opened it faster than he expected was possible; was she waiting there?

"Myuki! My dear! I've missed you!" She gave him an excited hug. He hugged her back lightly.

"Thank you, Rinjin-"

"-Myuki, you remember how you wanted me to get your money back? Well, I did! Shoka has agreed to give it back to you. If you come with me to his room, we'll settle everything today."

Iruka narrowed his eyes over Rinjin's head. Well, that was fast. Also, why did he need to go to Shoka's room? If he agreed to give it back to her, she could have just taken the paper. Alarm bells were starting to ring in his ears.

"Ah, excellent. What a devoted person you are, Rinjin. Lead the way."

Iruka was definitely interested in whatever Rinjin had planned for him. He didn't trust her at all; and he wasn't afraid of them, either.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

Rinjin lead him to their meeting place, far more silent then was usual for her character. This solidified the idea in Iruka's mind that they may have something in store for him. He wondered how they had made it this far in life, being as horrible as they were at plotting and deceiving since they enjoyed doing it so much. Maybe this is why they were broke.

They stopped before Shoka's door. Rinjin knocked, and she heard the murmur from Shoka telling them to come in. She stepped aside.

"Honoured guests first, Myuki!"

Not suspicious at all.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes heavily.

"Why, thank you." He answered smoothly, and stepped inside, all his senses on high alert.

Iruka detected them instantly; one on his left, one on his right. They were going to jump him within his next two steps.

One.

Two-

Iruka forced himself to stay still as Shoka leaped from behind the door and crashed into his side, trying to throw him off balance. He let himself stumble, Hanko coming up behind him to catch him and put a knife to his neck. The stocky trader grabbed his left arm and twisted it behind him. Iruka could not understand the point of that, since he still had his right arm free. Well, whatever made them feel better.

"I'm sorry, Myuki –I really preferred things MY way, but THESE two insisted!" Rinjin cried, sending a seething look towards the other traders. Iruka could not believe she was even going there.

He tried to look surprised. "Wh-what is the meaning of this?"

Shoka laughed harshly. "Well, Myuki –we've had quite enough of you. We've decided we like your money better."

Hanko spoke up from behind him. "Especially considering how horribly our plans went down the crapper, we need some cash support to keep us through the next trading season."

Iruka narrowed his eyes. "So. That assassin was right; you ARE broke."

Shoka scoffed. "BROKE is not the word I would use. We do not...well, he haven't been doing as well as usual, but we are hardly commoners. Anyway, there's no point in describing that to you –you have a choice to make that you should be more concerned with. You either sign all of your assets over to us, or we kill you."

"How on earth do you intend to get my money if I'm dead?"

Shoka glared. "We at least have the half you gave us during our agreement, and we should do half decently with that. If you ARE so insanely pig headed as to give your life up instead of your money, it is no great loss to us. However, I do assume you would much rather live."

Iruka paused for effect. Then, he allowed a maniacal smile to spread across his face. "Go to hell. Kill me if you dare."

They all froze, stunned.

"M-Myuki! Think about what you're saying! You're far too young, successful and attractive to die!"

"Well." Iruka answered. "Perhaps you should have thought of that before attacking me."

Her jaw dropped.

Shoka glared savagely. "You ARE seriously insane! You would rather die then give up your money? You can't exactly spend it in the afterlife!"

Iruka kept his grin in place. "No. However...you three will not have it. That is enough for me."

Again, they were utterly aghast.

Clearly, this was against their master plan.

They probably had assumed he would choke and sign over his money. Then, Iruka believed they definitely would have killed him once his finances were securely transferred. Otherwise, he would have gone right to the authorities and made their lives utterly hellish.

He heard Rinjin swoon.

"Wow...you really ARE brave!"

Girl, you have ISSUES.

Shoka seemed to snap first. "FINE! Hanko, kill him! Forget it; we don't need the rest of his money."

Iruka felt Hanko shake behind him. "Uh...wait. I thought YOU were gonna kill him."

Shoka looked like he was going to blow a gasket. "WHO CARES! You literally have a weapon held to this throat; make a slashing motion and end it!"

As much as Iruka was enjoying the show, he definitely had no intention of allowing it to continue any further, especially with talk of slitting his throat. He decided a threat on his life was a good enough reason to blow his cover.

Quicker than any other person in the room had a hope of following, he snatched the wrist that held the blade, spinning around in a circle and twisting Hanko's arm painfully. The trader screamed and dropped his weapon. He heard Rinjin scream in shock. He ignored the other two for the moment.

Iruka pulled up on Hanko's arm, twisted it some more for good measure, then leaned back and kicked the trader hard in the ribs, still gripping his arm. He heard the CRACK of his ribs splitting, and the POP of his arm pulling out of its socket. Hanko let out a horrible wail and crumpled to the ground. Iruka dropped his arm and spun around; two to go.

They looked horrified.

They should be.

Iruka was in front of Shoka before the trader could even blink. He pulled his arm back and smashed the heel of his palm up into the other mans nose. Shoka's head snapped back painfully, but before he could fly back against the wall, Iruka caught his arm and gave HIM a good kick to the ribs, too. He let him go. The trader sailed through the air and landed with a crunch in the corner of the room.

He turned to Rinjin.

"M-m-m-m-m-"

He was in front of her. He punched her in the stomach, watched her eyes bug out of her head, then grabbed her by the shirt and tossed her across the room. She landed, hard, on her side, rolled and came to a stop when she hit the nightstand.

He stood still and surveyed his handiwork.

Hanko was wailing in a ball on the floor, Shoka looked like he was about to pass out any moment and had a steady stream of blood flowing from his mouth and nose, and Rinjin was motionless on the floor across the room.

Damn. That felt GOOD.

Except now he had a problem; what the hell was he supposed to do with them?

The answer was decided for him.

Iruka spun around as he felt a presence behind him. Shizune was standing in the doorway, her left arm extended, her right arm pulling back. A second later, three poison darts sprung from the weapon on her wrist. They embedded themselves into the necks of each one of the traders.

Hanko fell silent instantly, although it obviously took him a minute to die. The others were already fairly comatose, so they simply closed their eyes and passed away slowly

Iruka watched them, with what he realized with frustration, was remorse.

There was seriously something wrong with him.

Shizune approached the chuunin, pulling her sleeve down. "Well. I guess that settles that."

Iruka sighed. "It's a shame it had to come to this. Such senseless death...but they were not good people."

Shizune cocked her eyebrow at him. "What happened?"

"They tried to force me, at knife point, to give all of my money to them. Then I'm certain they would have killed me. But, since I refused to cooperate, they decided to finish me off early."

Shizune stared at Iruka.

"I know you're probably tired of hearing this; but you're way too nice."

Iruka hung his head. "I know..."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooo

Shizune had told Iruka that she would dispose of the bodies herself. Iruka thanked her, as he definitely was not looking forward to the grizzly task, and set off to his hotel room to pack his things. Shizune thankfully had next to nothing with her, so she wouldn't take long to be ready for the journey back to Konoha.

Iruka almost squealed at the thought of being home again. He had had quite the adventure, and he had to admit that he was proud of his performance; but he could not wait to be home.

It took him almost no time to pack up everything. He sealed all of his expensive garments into a scroll; he would never wear them around Konoha, but he assumed they could be used on future missions, or sold. It wasn't his money, so he would let Tsunade decide.

He also packed up the few clothes he had of Kakashi's. HIS outfits were actually practical, and he wondered if Kakashi would want to keep them. Iruka thought the jounin looked ridiculously attractive in them, so he secretly hoped he would.

He finished his task by loading up their packs with the food the hotel refreshed in his room every day. He hid his own waist packs under the many folds of his clothing, and sealed the extra food he brought for Shizune in a scroll.

He took a moment to regard the hotel room; he had many interesting memories in this room. He thought wistfully of Kakashi and prayed he was alright. Then, he left.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

He met Shizune at her room. He knocked lightly, not expecting her to be there; except that she opened the door and smiled at him.

"Oh! Ah...wow. You're efficient."

Shizune grinned. "Medical work is very efficient."

"...Ah."

He did NOT want to know.

The two of them walked separately, but in the same vicinity, through the convention. Just in case, they didn't want to be associated with each other. Paranoid ninja strategy, you know.

Once they both left, they met up when they were well outside of the vicinity of the convention. Iruka handed Shizune her provisions, and without another second spared, they were on their way back to Konoha.

Iruka almost couldn't believe he was going home; the mission had ended up being far longer then he originally thought it would. It was also a lot more eventful then he could have ever imagined...

He found himself wondering, not for the last time, what Kakashi was doing.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooo

Shizune and Iruka stopped running after an hour and parked themselves on a thick branch to rest. They were half way home now, so Iruka figured it was safe to have a break and eat some of their stash. The chances of anything happening to them at this point were slim.

He reached inside of his pack and handed a roll to a panting Shizune. "Here you..." Iruka trailed off as he noticed something glistening behind his friend.

"Shizune-"

The medic whipped around a moment too late. A kunai flew out of the bushes and slashed her in the shoulder. Iruka dove forward, grabbed her, and leaped into the tree beside them.

A ninja popped out of the canopy not a moment later, wielding a katana. He wore a mixture of different body armours and had no hidden village forehead protector. He was a rogue ninja, or a mercenary...

Seriously, WHAT were the chances of running into a MERCENARY so close to two populated areas?

The ninja grinned, and not in a friendly way. He spun his katana around his head. "Alright, ladies. I'm a nice guy, so I'll spare your lives if you hand over all your dough."

Iruka tried not to look too defiant; he remembered what Kakashi said, and this guy seemed like the kind of person who would fuck with you just for kicks.

"I'm afraid you're wasting your time; we have no money."

The ninja threw back his head and laughed. "SURE there, fancy pants."

Iruka blinked in confusion. Then, he looked down at himself. Oh...right. He was dressed like a wealthy merchant.

Shit.

Shizune stepped out from behind Iruka, clutching her arm and NOT looking impressed. "Continue on your way, ninja. The clothes on his back are all he has left; we have not had the best luck lately."

"Why do you think we're traveling by ourselves, through the forest? No one worth anything would do that." Iruka added. Come on, it was just logic.

Their attacker frowned to himself. He took a long, hard look at the pair in front of him. He shrugged. "Well. You may be right, but I can't just let you leave now. I wouldn't want you to warn anyone that I'm out here; I have money to make, yah know."

Iruka braced himself, reaching behind him for a kunai. Fine. A fight to the death it was.

Then he remembered; the SCROLL! Kakashi had given him a jutsu for just such an occasion.

He grabbed the scroll out of his pack instead, and gestured behind him to Shizune for her to hold back; she was crouched in a fighting stance behind him.

The ninja launched himself at them, just as Iruka clapped his hands together, holding the scroll in between his thumbs. He sent his chakra surging to the seal.

There was a cry from all three of them as a mighty lightning wolf erupted from Iruka's hands and ran straight towards their attacker. He was caught off guard, and the attack was wicked fast; it hit him square in the chest.

Chakra exploded out, sending the ninja falling down from the trees to land on the ground with a sloppy thud. Iruka and Shizune stepped forward and glanced down.

His entire chest was a charred mess. His eyes were wide open and glazed over.

DAMN. How the HELL had Kakashi managed to seal an attack like that?

Shizune turned to Iruka, amazed. "I-Iruka-sensei...wasn't that Kakashi's jutsu?"

Iruka nodded. "He gave it to me so I could defend myself when I was posing as a civilian."

Shizune looked impressed. "Wow. Kakashi has so many tricks up his sleeves..."

They both felt something and their heads snapped to the side. Slowly, arrogantly, another ninja stepped out of the tree canopy directly beside them. He also had a katana, except it was twice the size of the others. He had no forehead protector, but judging from his choice of weapon, Iruka guessed he originated from Mist.

"Interesting. Seems we caught us some undercover ninja."

Again, they felt a chakra spike, but behind them. Another ninja stepped out from the green. They had been hiding themselves, laying in wait for travelers they could ambush.

Great.

Well, at least they were no longer out numbered. He assumed they sent one person out as a decoy, to test the skill of their targets. It had actually worked in the Konoha ninja's favour; three on two would have been rough for them.

Iruka and Shizune exchanged glances. Iruka had, obviously, never fought with Shizune before, but she was intelligent and he assumed they'd be able to read each other's movements.

Iruka whipped out a kunai, dove to the side and tossed it at the first ninja, while Shizune whipped around and let loose her poison senbon at the ninja behind them.

As Iruka expected, his target dodged his attack easily. He switched directions and came at the rogue from the side, taking out another kunai. He had no idea what to expect, so he wanted to keep his distance and keep mixing things up to confuse his attacker.

The ninja clapped his hands together and quickly formed seals. Iruka stopped instantly; Oh shit! He jumped straight up.

"WATER DRAGON!"

The jutsu barely missed Iruka, but it headed straight for Shizune.

"MOVE!" Iruka shouted down, and Shizune had just enough warning to leap into the trees before she was smashed against the ground by a ton of water.

Iruka landed on a tree branch a few yards down from his target. Shit, so he had some pretty fancy jutsu.

Shizune emerged from the trees, her hands glowing with concentrated chakra. She attacked her ninja head on. He dodged, but she swiped in a wide arc behind her and her razor sharp medical chakra slashed a very familiar gash right across the ninjas shoulder.

"Ah! What the hell..."

Iruka turned to his opponent. The ninja was grinning at him, obviously cocky. Bad move.

"WHA-?"

The ninja exclaimed, as someone grabbed him from behind. Iruka dove forward instantly, brandishing his kunai. His opponent was definitely strong, and he dispelled Iruka's clone as he whipped his head back and cracked his skull against it. But, it gave Iruka the advantage he needed. Just as the Mist rogue was turning back around, the chuunin appeared beside him and slashed him across the chest with his weapon. The ninja screamed and kicked Iruka away, who tumbled swiftly and landed in a crouch on a tree branch.

Iruka was ready to go again in an instant. He reached into his pack for his explosive tags; he had an idea.

He heard the shrill scream of a woman and he jumped up, turning to the side. Shizune was pinned against the trunk of a tree, holding the rogue ninja's sword away with just her kunai.

Iruka turned to help her, but he was busy himself. His opponent was pissed. He lifted his sword and dove at Iruka. The chuunin went to jump away; but another idea struck him. He stayed crouched, clutching the tags in his pack. When his attacker was so close he wouldn't be able to switch directions, Iruka whipped the tags straight at his chest, then dove as fast as he could. The sword was too close to him at that point, so he received a nasty slice to his back, but his plan worked.

He ran ahead as fast as he could, then twirled around and faced the other ninja. The Mist nin was staring down at himself in shock. Iruka clapped his hands together and formed his sign.

**BOOM.**

When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but pieces of clothing and flesh.

Iruka couldn't believe he just blew someone up.

He remembered Shizune and glanced her way. The explosion had temporarily distracted her opponent; he was staring, slack jawed, at the charred spot his companion used to occupy. Iruka whipped out a kunai and threw it at him.

The ninja had no choice but to jump away, separating himself from Shizune. She was pretty pissed, too. She charged her hands and leaped at him. Iruka ran to join her.

CRACK.

Iruka felt a searing pain in his arm, and then he was flying through the air. He landed, hard, against a tree, but righted himself onto a branch.

ANOTHER ninja had appeared.

REALLY?

"You ASSHOLE! Do you know how hard it is to find good help these days!?" The ninja snarled, also pulling out a katana and advancing on Iruka.

Iruka didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, especially since the gash on his back was starting to feel pretty damn bad.

He heard a male snarl as Shizune landed a cutting blow on her opponent. Well...maybe they had a chance.

Something in the air started to make his skin prickle. He didn't know if he hit the tree harder then he thought, or if there was some kind of weird, loud static in the air...

In the next moment, his enemy had a gaping, fist sized hole right where his heart used to be. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he flopped forward lifelessly.

Behind him was Kakashi.

Iruka was frozen in place. Shit, maybe he DID hit his head harder then he thought. There was no way Kakashi was really here.

"DYNAMIC ENTRRRYYYYY!"

There was an almost supersonic loud crash, an entire tree limb went down, and so did a crumpled up body. Gai launched himself up, mid air, from his fallen opponent, back flipped, and landed on a tree branch next to Shizune.

He posed.

"MY FRIENDS! We were in time after all!"

Iruka slowly turned his head from Gai to look back at Kakashi. He hadn't noticed when, but the jounin had walked straight up to him. Concern, anger, and something that looked an odd amount like panic shone in his eyes.

"Iruka! Are you alright?"

The chuunin wanted to jump on him.

He restrained himself. Barely.

"Kakashi..." was all he managed. He didn't feel horribly injured, he was just overcome with shock, joy, longing...

Kakashi gripped his shoulders and spun him around. He sucked in a sharp breath at Iruka's injury.

"Damnit. Shizune-san!" Kakashi called over his shoulder. He turned Iruka back around and gazed into his eyes.

"Iruka. Answer me; you're making me worried."

Iruka finally snapped out of it. He smiled. "I'm so happy to see you."

Kakashi stared in shock for a moment, but it was short lived. His grip tightened on the chuunins arms, and his expression softened; his eyes glowed with warmth.

"Iruka..."

The others joined them at that moment, cutting their reunion short. Shizune attended to Iruka's injury skilfully, and the pair of jounin filled the two in on the situation at hand.

They had arrived at Mist, not long ago, to find that the merchants had been murdered by their unimpressed hired hands.

Without the support of their fellow conspirators, they could no longer employ the vast group of rogue's they promised wealth and adventure to. Once the mercenaries found out, things had turned ugly.

"These men who attacked you; they're part of the small army who were supposed to be part of the boycott. They must have taken to robbing travelers in the woods to make up for the pay they lost. I felt my chakra in the woods immediately; I knew that it could only have been you. We came as fast as we could." Kakashi explained. He glanced over at the splattered, messy remains of the once-was ninja.

"I...see that you had some success before we arrived. That explains the explosion."

Iruka flushed.

Shizune threw an affectionate arm around his shoulders. "Indeed! Iruka-sensei is quite clever! He took care of two of them in no time."

Kakashi and Gai regarded Iruka, both looking impressed.

Iruka was glaring red. "A-Ah, I wouldn't really take too much credit. Kakashi-san, your jutsu was responsible for the first one. The other...well, he underestimated me."

Both jounin grinned.

"And it is a sad day for any fool who does that, EH, Iruka-sensei!?" Gai proclaimed, cuffing Iruka on the back far too hard.

He winced severely.

Shizune smacked Gai in the head. "Gai-sensei! I just healed him."

Gai turned red. "RIGHT! My apologies!"

Iruka smiled. "Thank you for your praise, Gai-sensei."

Kakashi shifted his weight, sending an intent glance into the woods. "We should leave. There could be others."

The three shinobi nodded their consent and took off into the trees.

The chuunin noticed that Kakashi had placed himself up front, away from Iruka. It wasn't exactly unusual; Kakashi was probably still in charge of the mission, and as the leader, he lead the way.

But Iruka wasn't praised for his people skills for nothing; he felt something was wrong.

He would speak to Kakashi when they were all safely at the village.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooo

Hope you enjoyed! :D


	13. Chapter 13

They arrived at Konoha after an hour of silent running. Iruka had to physically restrain himself from kissing the ground; he would never complain about teaching again. Every single thing about the village looked beautiful. He almost hugged the ramen vendor.

Kakashi lead them, unsurprisingly, right to Tsunade. The group were let in by the ANBU guards after Kakashi saluted them.

Tsunade practically leapt out of her seat.

"All of you?" she asked, clearly shocked the mission had ended so abruptly. "Report!"

It took about an hour for all of them to fill the Hokage in on what had happened. Tsunade listened intently, her hands clasped, until they finished. When no one else had anything left to report, the Hokage paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. Her eyes were closed in concentration.

When she finally opened them, she smiled brightly. "Well. I would say this is mission accomplished, team. Very well done. I'll admit…the situation had me worried." She stood from her chair and walked around her messy desk. She leaned her back against the front of it, facing her comrades, her arms crossed before her.

"It seems everyone who had an issue with Konoha has been put out of the picture, so I'm assuming we're safe from any future attempts. All the same, I'm going to be sending out some messengers to intercept any traders from our village to give them some...extremely watered down intel about what happened so they can watch their backs for the next while."

Her face went serious. She jabbed a finger at Iruka. "YOU!"

Iruka snapped to attention. "Ah- Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"You're getting a raise."

Iruka's jaw dropped. "W-what…but, Tsunade-sama..."

"No arguments! Only you, Iruka, honestly…."

Iruka flushed.

The others grinned.

"Also, you're going to fill in the mission report for your leg of the mission. Gai, you are definitely filling in yours –do not come within a mile of that paperwork, Kakashi. Shizune, just write me up a mission log and you're done. You wouldn't BELIEVE the work that's piled up in your absence –I need you right away!"

Shizune blanched. "Yes, Tsunade-sama…"

Iruka did NOT envy her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooo

Shizune returned to her place next to Tsunade while the rest took to the windows and escaped anymore work via rooftop. Iruka was almost beside himself –he wanted to talk to Kakashi so bad he was pretty sure his hands were shaking. He wanted to make sure he was alright, wanted to ask more details about Mist. He just…wanted to spend time with him again.

The three of them landed lightly in a side street; it was mid day and the main roads were way too crowded to jump into.

Gai turned to the other two, his tone and expression rarely normal. "WELL! It has most certainly been an honour working with you two this mission."

He slapped a hand down on Iruka's shoulder. He absolutely beamed at him, his teeth glistening in the sunlight. That didn't last long.

"ADORABLE SENSEI! Please join us and our jounin friends at The Shaky Shinobi tomorrow night. I am sure they will have a thousand questions to ask you –most of which you are strictly forbidden to answer. HOWEVER, it would still be our treat for you to become incapacitated with us!"

Iruka shuffled uncertainly. It was very kind of him to ask, but he probably had a disgusting amount of homework to grade. Poor Shikamaru had been in charge of classes for a week –that was way too long for the laidback chuunin to be dealing with hyper pre-genin. The first thing he should REALLY be doing is seeing to his actual job.

"Gai-sensei, thank you for the offer, but-"

"IT IS SETTLED! SEE YOU THEN!" He disappeared, a cloud of smoke all that remained. Iruka saw him running over a hill faintly in the distance.

He sighed. Well…guess he was going out tomorrow.

Finally, he turned hopefully to Kakashi. The jounin was standing off to the side, his usual slouch in place. Iruka positively beamed at him. "Well, I see that you upheld your end of the bargain! You look just fine!"

Kakashi regarded Iruka silently. His expression was unreadable, but it wasn't The Unreadable Expression. It looked far too vacant for that. Iruka felt his stomach drop into his knees –that couldn't be good.

Kakashi shrugged. "We didn't run into any trouble." He said simply.

Iruka remained positive. "Ah! Yes, right." He laughed. "It's still a relief, anyway. I want to hear all about what you were doing while we were apart; I kept wondering where you were, where you were hiding. I can make you dinner, actually! The market is still open, so-"

"-Iruka…"

Iruka stopped suddenly. He smiled at Kakashi, although he felt dread grip his heart.

Kakashi looked…well, he looked distraught. He looked down at the ground.

"…I can't…"

Iruka's heart seized at the emotion in Kakashi's voice. He gave the copy-nin a moment to continue; when he didn't, the chuunin steeled himself and tried to keep his emotions in check.

"Can't do what, Kakashi?" He asked softly.

Kakashi kept his head lowered. The situation was a little scary, but Iruka was more hurt by the horrible look in the jounin's eyes. He couldn't place it, but he looked tortured; like everything inside of his heart was conflicting with itself. Iruka could almost picture a flurry of thoughts crashing into each other in his head. The chuunin couldn't help but think that Kakashi was the last person he knew who deserved to feel that way.

Iruka took a deep breath and approached the jounin slowly. Kakashi's head shot up, and he looked mildly alarmed, but Iruka could see that he had no intentions of running. He had been right to think that Kakashi was not a coward; he was not going to leave.

He stopped when he thought he was a comfortable distance from the confused jounin.

"Kakashi…what's wrong?" He asked, as softly as he could. He didn't want to pry too hard, but he was definitely not giving Kakashi up.

The copy-nin looked away in shame. "I…you were covered in blood." He said simply. Iruka could tell he was trying to keep the emotion from his voice, but it wasn't working very well.

He glanced up at Iruka. "I thought I was too late. I thought it was happening again."

Iruka's heart cracked into a thousand pieces. He just wanted to take everything that hurt Kakashi away.

"Kakashi…I'm alright, you saved me. I know you mentioned…in your letter…" he licked his hips. He didn't want to bring up bad memories, but he didn't know how else to say what he wanted to say. "…you said you felt like you couldn't protect people before. "

He smiled. "But you protected me."

Kakashi's eyes widened, but there was less urgency in them. He seemed to process what Iruka said; some of the tension left his body.

"…But…" He started, stopping abruptly when his voice caught.

He suddenly seemed even more distraught then before. With a pang of pain, Iruka thought that Kakashi looked like a lost child. He wanted so badly to hold him, but he knew that would be a little much with the jounin still looking so wild eyed.

"Kakashi…" Iruka tentatively reached forward; he very gently took Kakashi's hand. "I know what it's like to lose the people you love; I also know what it's like to blame yourself for it."

Kakashi's eyes pierced him with shock; and hope. He looked a little less tortured, even if for a moment.

"I was just a kid. Imagine a kid blaming himself for not protecting his parents? Doesn't it sound pointless, to an adult?"

Kakashi just stared.

"But I did anyway. For years…I was miserable. I didn't make any real connections with anyone. I covered my pain with a prankster mask, just like Naruto did. It wasn't until Hiruzen-sama helped me with his kindness that I was able to move on."

Iruka's face and voice were completely serious, but his eyes remained warm, and they locked with Kakashi's unwaveringly. "I replaced my sorrow with the Will of Fire. I was able to be happy, and I was able to truly live again."

He took a step towards Kakashi, putting them so close together he had to look up into the jounin's face. Kakashi didn't break their gaze, or move; he seemed to welcome the closeness deep in his eyes.

"Kakashi…I don't want you to be so unhappy. I want you to be free, like I was. I have no right telling you how to feel or what to do; but I do want you to know that I will happily be here for you. I meant what I said in my letter; I will do my best to make you feel warm."

Kakashi 's eyes seemed to beg Iruka to be right. The chuunin didn't think Kakashi could ever look so vulnerable. If anyone had told him the famous copy-nin was so shattered inside before this mission, he never would have believed them. No one, who knew him, actually thought he was as laid back as he appeared. But Iruka was beginning to see how much pain and guilt Kakashi had built up and berated himself with for…well, he didn't know. He was afraid to find out.

He felt a glimmer of hope as Kakashi slowly bent his head and rested his forehead against Iruka's. He closed his eyes, and they stayed that way until Kakashi felt like speaking.

"…I'm sorry. This…is not how I pictured things going when I saw you again." He mumbled, his fear slowly being replaced by embarrassment.

Iruka smiled. "Don't apologize, Kakashi. I'm sorry I got hurt…you came back uninjured, like you promised. And I didn't…I feel terrible."

There was a moment of silence.

"Only you would feel terrible for getting injured during an ambush."

Iruka looked up at Kakashi, their foreheads still together.

"Fine, I take it back."

"You can't; you said it already."

"That's why 'take it back' was invented, for when you said it already."

They glared at each other affectionately.

"Kakashi…come home with me; I'll make us both dinner. Oh! I promised you that too, didn't I? That I would stuff you full of food. I couldn't stay safe, but I'll give you everything else I promised."

Kakashi went silent again. Iruka could feel him stiffen. The chuunin gave him a moment.

"Kakashi?"

"….Mmm?"

"My forehead is starting to sweat."

"…..it's your punishment."

"That's a lame punishment."

"I could do much worse to you if you want."

"Nevermind..."

Kakashi snorted. Iruka had learned his lesson well.

Again, there was a pause. Kakashi made it clear that he was still scared, but did not want to leave Iruka. This Iruka could work with.

"I promise; we'll go home, and I won't ask you anything. We don't have to talk at all, unless you want to. Okay?"

Kakashi nodded against the chuunin. "Kay."

Iruka smiled. He pulled away, but offered Kakashi the crook of his arm. Kakashi looked at his arm, then looked back up at Iruka.

"That's cute."

He put his hand on Iruka's shoulder, made a hand sign, and they both teleported away.

They appeared at Iruka's doorstep. The chuunin tried to remember when Kakashi had been there…he shook his head. It didn't matter.

"Hate to break it to you, hot shot, but I don't have any groceries."

"…Oh. Right."

He teleported them to the market.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooo

After a light shopping trip which involved Iruka picking out ingredients for dinner and Kakashi attempting to salvage his pride by layering on his flippant attitude (although he did insist he paid for the groceries, which was nice), they were teleported back to Iruka's apartment. The chuunin let them in and gestured to the couch.

"You can just have a seat here if you like, Kakashi."

The jounin eyed the sofa. Then, he eyed Iruka. "I'll stay in the kitchen."

The chuunin smiled. "Alright."

He set to work right away, preparing ramen with eggplant and vegetables, since Kakashi seemed to eye the eggplant with definite interest. The jounin stayed close to him, watching the chuunin work away with quiet contentment.

"Kakashi, would you mind boiling some water, please?" Iruka asked, turning his head slightly as he cut the vegetables.

Kakashi did as he was told, with a hint of absentmindedness. He was still lost in himself, trying to figure out what to do. His emotions had settled down significantly, and he was starting to think rationally again. Yes, seeing Iruka seemingly mortally injured had sucked intensely. However, Iruka was an academy sensei…the chances of him ever going on a mission again were slim. Also, he had taken care of himself a lot better than Kakashi would have given him credit for. Kakashi knew Iruka was intelligent, but he didn't know he was that crafty and quick on his feet. If Iruka had the killing intent needed to be a ninja, he could easily have been a successful jounin. As it was, Iruka was far too kind to ever be able to go on missions regularly, and he didn't seem to care enough about power to ever train himself to jounin level.

That thought comforted Kakashi immensely. He hated to think of Iruka like a house wife, but he was the closest thing to it while still being a shinobi who could relate to him. Kakashi…kind of really liked the idea that someone would always be waiting for him. That he would never have to sit by himself and wonder if his lover was alive. Home…he could actually have a home.

He paused, mid movement. The thought of home…it almost overwhelmed him. He nearly crushed the plate in his hands.

"…Kakashi?"

The jounin snapped out of his thoughts. Iruka was looking at him with concern.

"Oi, sorry." He apologized with his usual eye smile. Iruka seemed satisfied, and went back to stirring their dinner.

Kakashi berated himself; he was getting way too ahead of the game. But…it helped calm him to know that everything about Iruka tugged at strings in his chest he didn't know were there.

He thought that maybe it wasn't very fair that he got to be comforted by the fact that Iruka being in danger was a complete coin toss, while Iruka would constantly have to worry about his lazy ass getting cut to pieces on a mission.

Oh well!

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

When dinner was finished, Iruka ordered Kakashi to the table. The jounin obeyed, and sat cross-legged, awaiting his meal with excitement.

Iruka walked over and placed Kakashi's bowl in front of him. He walked a few paced down and sat at the other end of the table, intending to give Kakashi his space. He sighed with happiness, dove his chopsticks into his ramen-

"-Meep!"

Iruka squeaked as he felt himself being dragged. Kakashi had gripped him around his waist and pulled him till they were next to each other. He let go, pulled his mask down and ate his dinner without looking at Iruka. The chuunin regarded Kakashi in mild shock before smiling warmly and tending to his own meal.

When they were finished, Iruka stood and took Kakashi's bowl with his own. The jounin looked up at him.

"Thank you; it was delicious. I was starving."

Iruka laughed. "You wouldn't have thought that, with the trouble you gave me in the market."

Kakashi stared up at him with his trademark half-lidded gaze. "I hate grocery shopping."

Iruka laughed again and shook his head as he walked to the sink, depositing their bowls. He busied himself with making tea for them both.

Kakashi stared into his lap, his resolve strengthening. He was mad at himself, now -for being so weak willed. Torturing himself? Fine. He deserved it. But Iruka didn't…Kakashi had noticed how nervous the chuunin was when they were finally alone and Kakashi was acting cold. The fact that Iruka had reacted so amazingly just made the jounin feel worse. That…dark, swirling mass had made its way right to his throat, and he couldn't have reacted any other way. It had taken Iruka opening up about his past for Kakashi to suppress it. He wondered how he was supposed to be with someone when he could hardly be with himself.

Iruka returned with their tea cups. He slid one over to Kakashi, smiling at him. Kakashi ignored the tea; he caught the chuunins wrist. Iruka blinked up at him in surprise.

"Iruka. I thought of what I wanted you to give me."

The chuunin blushed furiously. "Ah…of course. Anything you want."

Kakashi regarded Iruka with a look so penetrating the chuunins mind went completely blank.

"Endless patience."

Iruka's heart swelled with warmth. "Kakashi…"

"I'm…" Kakashi started, then he looked away. Iruka, as asked, was patient.

"I'm weird." He stated simply.

Iruka fought REALLY hard not to laugh. He didn't know what he was expecting; but he wasn't expecting that.

He smiled warmly instead. "I think you're charming."

"You say that now. Wait a month." Kakashi deadpanned.

Iruka laughed this time. "Kakashi, I understand you're...quirky…"

"Yamato says I'm inherently evil."

Iruka burst out laughing. "What have you done to him?"

Kakashi grinned. "If I told you, you wouldn't like me."

Iruka smiled affectionately. "I don't think Yamato would respect you so much if he actually thought you were evil."

"Well. He's a jounin, too. We're all a bit off. It's probably one of his quirks; he likes punishment."

"Kakashi!"

"What? I don't judge. I'm socially inadequate, Gai's TOO socially adequate, Yamato enjoys suffering…everyone has something."

Iruka was enjoying this conversation way too much considering the underlying theme was the scars of his villages heroes brought on by their sacrifices for their community.

Iruka gazed at Kakashi with mounting affection before he answered him.

"Ask for something else."

Kakashi stared.

"...What?" He looked mildly panicked.

Iruka smiled. "I had every intention of being patient with you, Kakashi. I don't think it's fair to promise you something I was going to do already. Ask for something else."

Kakashi continued to stare at Iruka, a mixture of surprise and...well, that Unreadable Expression was back, the one that didn't make Iruka want to curl up into a ball of misery.

"You really are way too nice."

Iruka sighed. "The way people say that all the time, you'd think it's a bad thing."

Kakashi smiled. For the first time that day, it reached his eyes. "It isn't."

Iruka blushed furiously at the sincerity in Kakashi's words. He glanced down.

"I have nothing..."

Iruka looked up. "Huh?"

Kakashi was rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, that was my thing. Now I don't know what to ask for."

"You had all that time, and all you thought of was patience?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, no. I thought of lots of stuff. But I can do all of that to you whenever I want, I don't need to make you promise anything."

Iruka re-achieved his infrared wavelength facial redness.

"...Ah..."

Well, Kakashi seemed to be opening up again. That was definitely good.

The jounin suddenly perked up. "Wait. I know."

Iruka tried to look excited. "Oh...really?"

_Please not something insanely kinky, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet..._

Kakashi seemed to take a moment to make sure it was what he wanted. The seriousness of his countenance calmed Iruka; it obviously wasn't going to be something ridiculous, it seemed like it was important to Kakashi.

Kakashi seemed to take a breath before he continued. "I want you to come with me whenever I visit the memorial stone."

Iruka, once again, felt like his heart was going to pop. For someone who thought he was evil, Kakashi said the sweetest things.

"Of course I will, Kakashi. How often do you usually go?"

The jounin seemed extremely reluctant to say. Iruka wanted to tell him to drop it, since the last thing he wanted was for Kakashi to withdraw from him again, but the copy-nin seemed to realize not telling him was pointless as he was obviously going to find out anyway.

"Every morning."

Iruka's jaw dropped.

Every.

Morning?

Now...Iruka understood this to an extent, as he used to visit the memorial stone every day for hours for a year after his parents died. However...that was like, what, 9 years ago? Iruka knew nothing about Kakashi's past, but he had vaguely known Kakashi for years and had never known him to be associated with anyone but Gai. So...how long ago had all his loved ones died?

Kakashi seemed to sense Iruka's shock and he stood quickly. "Nevermind."

"No!" Iruka stood too, reaching out to Kakashi. "No, please. I'd be happy to. I just...well, how long have you been going there every morning?"

Kakashi was silent.

Iruka smiled warmly at him. "Well, alright. It doesn't matter."

Now he couldn't resist; he stepped forward and embraced Kakashi lightly, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on his shoulder. He had no idea Kakashi needed someone this badly. The implications of someone neglecting his live companions for a gravestone were not lost on the chuunin. He really, truly hoped he could give the jounin what he needed.

To Iruka's surprise, Kakashi didn't hesitate. He ran his hands up the chuunins back and pulled him in tighter. They stayed like that, locked together, for a while. Kakashi felt like he was being filled up with warmth. The connection clicked with him; Iruka HAD promised him warmth, and from what Kakashi was feeling, he was keeping his word.

He thought with excitement...maybe. Maybe it WAS possible for him to be happy. If Iruka liked him...maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought he was.

"Kakashi?"

The jounin escaped his thoughts and glanced down. "Mm?"

"You feel exhausted. Why don't we get cleaned up and call it a night?"

Kakashi looked down at them.

"Oh. Right."

Yah, Iruka was still covered in blood and neither of them had showered in who knows how long.

No wonder people were staring at the market.

Hmm...maybe that explained a lot of the strange looks he got when he returned from missions and didn't bother to go to his apartment first.

The chuunin ushered him to his bathroom, gave him a spare blue uniform (he figured he would feel most comfortable in that) and a towel and then headed into the kitchen to do the dishes.

When Iruka finished and headed back to the bathroom, he caught Kakashi coming out and didn't hold back his laugh. "Well...I guess it fits."

Kakashi was considerably taller than the chuunin, so his uniform ended comically at his mid calf. It also hugged his shoulders and the top of his torso more than it should have (which Iruka wasn't going to complain about) as his shoulders were wider as well.

Kakashi turned to look at Iruka. He shrugged. "I could take it off, if you want."

Iruka inflamed. "Ummm...well, we can figure that out later." He blushed again. Damnit. "Kakashi, you can sleep wherever you feel most comfortable. I'll be out in a minute." And he rushed into the bathroom.

Honestly, sometimes it was like he was 15 again...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

Iruka emerged from the bathroom and peeked into the living room; Kakashi wasn't there. He felt himself tingle all over –only one other option.

He entered his room and instantly noticed that Kakashi was on his bed –clearly passed out. Iruka smiled warmly and towelled off his hair. He went about his business as quietly as he could. When he was ready for bed, he crawled onto the opposite side of the bed as Kakashi, trying –uselessly, he thought afterwards- not to wake the jounin.

Kakashi, without moving any other part of his body, flopped his arm out across the bed. He wiggled his fingers.

Iruka took the hint. He crawled over to Kakashi, nestled in beside him and laid his head on his arm. The jounin wrapped said arm around Iruka's shoulders, and the two curled into each other before falling asleep peacefully.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

Well, I hope you guys liked that. I'm trying to investigate Kakashi emotionally and he is a tough nut to crack. He's too smart to do something stupid (I think, anyway), but he's also OBVIOUSLY scarred hardcore so it's interesting to try and find that like...place where those two huge parts of him intersect. I also keep thinking that his caring nature would get tumbled up into the mess of other things going on in his head to create potential brain explosions like the one I attempted to portray.


	14. Chapter 14

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka blinked his eyes open, realizing instantly that it was pitch black in the room –the kind of dark it got in the dead of night. When they had fallen asleep, the sun was just beginning to set. He was still nestled tightly against Kakashi; the two of them were facing each other. He tilted his head up slightly and gazed into the copy-nin's slumbering face.

It wasn't very often you got to just..._look _at Kakashi; especially Kakashi without his mask on (which technically never happened for the majority of people). With his features completely relaxed, and his lips slightly parted, Iruka didn't think he'd ever seen someone so handsome. Of course, at this stage, no one was better looking to him then Kakashi. But you didn't need to care about the jounin to see that he was attractive.

Kakashi must have sensed even his slight movement, because it wasn't long before he calmly opened his eyes. Iruka blushed slightly, but kept his gaze and smiled faintly in the dark. "Did I wake you?"

"No." Kakashi said simply, but his voice was thick and husky and not curt. It reminded Iruka of a big, wild cat waking up from a nap.

The jounin rolled onto his back so he could stretch his muscles. Iruka felt a little bad; his bed...was not meant for two people. Though that was the ninja way, really: You only had what you needed. He couldn't imagine the jounin's bed being any bigger.

As soon as Kakashi was satisfied, he curled right back up next to Iruka, pulling the chuunin in closer by his waist. It gave Iruka a little thrill for Kakashi to handle him. He realized, now that he was significantly less tired and emotionally strained, that he wanted the jounin badly.

"I'm sorry, Iruka."

The chuunin almost snapped his head up in surprise, but held himself back just in time. That would have meant smashing his head into the jounin's chin; not romantic.

"Kakashi, you don't have to apologize-"

In a flash, Kakashi had rolled and swung his body around, so his legs were straddling Iruka's hips, arms on either side of Iruka's head. He looked down at him, his eyes radiating intensity.

"Yes, I do. I choked. I don't understand how you can be so sure of yourself."

Iruka was, once again, mesmerised by the look in Kakashi's eyes. He could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

"What do you mean, Kakashi?"

"I mean, you don't seem to hesitate. You aren't...afraid, of being with someone. What makes you able to do that?"

Iruka smiled warmly up at Kakashi. Only someone who was afraid would ask such a question; he had to take a moment to answer.

"Kakashi...I...don't really think about it." He laughed. "That doesn't sound very enlightening, but...I mean, I can't say I'm SURE of myself, I just..."

Man it was hard to think rationally when Kakashi was looking at him so expectantly.

"I enjoy being with people, I guess. I like...I like caring for them." He felt himself turn red. "I...really like you." He felt his voice getting frustratingly smaller. He had never had such intense emotional moments with anyone before.

"And, well...it makes me feel good to be around you. So, I just...do, haha." He scratched the scar on his nose in uncertainty. He felt like he was babbling, but it really was hard to explain.

"If you mean...how I can still have such a strong desire to connect with people, despite what I may have gone through? I think it's just...who I am. I also came to realize that the life of a ninja has the potential to be filled with pain. To dwell on it will only bring needless suffering. I wasn't happy when all I thought about was what I lost, so I changed my attitude."

Iruka suddenly blushed, uncertain. "Ah, I don't know if that made any sense."

Kakashi's gaze had turned harder, but not in a cold way. "So, basically, you're stronger then I am."

Iruka's eyes flew open. "No! No, Kakashi. That's not true. I...well, I don't know much about your past, but you could have been through a lot more than me. I think you're very strong."

Kakashi didn't seem convinced.

Iruka scooted back against the headboard a bit so he could sit up slightly. Kakashi sat back onto Iruka's waist. They stared at each other.

"Kakashi...you risk your life all the time. You see things, consistently, that you handle without breaking or being afraid. I saw those things too, and I couldn't handle them. You're much stronger then I am. Or..." Iruka smiled brightly. "You're stronger than me in different areas. Everyone has their weak spots; that's mine. I don't have the resolve for fighting. Technically, I am a terrible shinobi. What I do have, though, is my desire to connect with people. I guess it's a good thing I got more in the emotional security department, because if I didn't have that, imagine where I'd be!" Iruka laughed again. He really wouldn't be ANYWHERE; except maybe selling ramen. Or maybe a farmer. Hmm...

"That's the nice thing about...well, being with someone. You get to combine your talents. You, Kakashi, are amazing by yourself. But, if you add someone else who has different strengths then you, they can help you in those areas and you can be an even stronger person then before."

Kakashi's gaze had not wavered in its intensity; he had barely blinked. Iruka was starting to feel insecure about his little speech.

"Ah...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like th-"

Kakashi grasped Iruka's head and kissed him, hard and deep. His lips demanded more instantly, and Iruka responded without hesitation, his mouth following Kakashi's and opening so their tongues could clash heatedly. The passion with which Kakashi kissed Iruka made him dizzy; he didn't think he could ever have such an effect on someone, especially someone like Kakashi.

The jounin lifted Iruka by the front of his shirt and pulled him up and away from the headboard, pushing him flat onto the mattress with such intensity that Iruka let out a sound of surprise which sounded half way between a moan and a shout. Kakashi was still gripping Iruka's clothes when he leaned in and practically hissed in Iruka's ear.

"I want you _NOW._"

Iruka actually moaned in response. "Y-yes...yes..."

His shirt was over his head and gone in an instant. Iruka's mind evaporated into nothingness and his body kicked into gear. He gripped Kakashi's shirt, which disappeared a moment later. At the sight of Kakashi's sculpted chest, Iruka hands shot out and he gripped the jounins sides, running his tongue along the middle of his abdomen. He felt Kakashi's weight on him as he leaned over to practically rip Iruka's pants off. The chuunin barely noticed; Kakashi's skin was so soft, he ran his finger tips all over his back, revelling in how he could feel every one of his muscles.

Kakashi levelled himself with Iruka and pressed their bare chests together, kissing him deeply again, Iruka moaning softly into Kakashi's open mouth, their tongues meeting slower this time, but still hard. The chuunin bucked his hips and wrapped his legs around Kakashi's waist, rotating his hips into the jounins slowly so their groins ground against each other in a way that sent a shudder up their spines.

"_Fuck..._" Kakashi moaned, biting Iruka's lip in response. He glanced up and seemed to look around the room for something frantically. He deflated slightly when he saw no sign of it.

Wha...?

OH!

Oh shit...

Iruka had nothing. He wasn't exactly Night Stand, hitting up the bars and taking people home every weekend. He guessed Kakashi hadn't held onto whatever it was he brought for them when they were at the hotel –guess knives and food were a little more important.

"Ah...umm...the kitchen?" Maybe they could use oil? Ugh, that was messy.

Kakashi was gone and back in an instant.

Oh...well. Guess it would do.

It was incredible, they had barely touched each other and yet Iruka was so fired up he could hardly stand it. Kakashi was wasting no time, putting a small amount of oil into his hand and slicking it onto himself. Iruka felt a shiver vibrate up his spine as he watched Kakashi prepare himself with such confidence. Instinctively, he sat up and licked the tip of the jounin's cock. Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath, then his hand was on Iruka's shoulder and Iruka was slammed back down onto the mattress. The chuunin gasped then felt Kakashi positioning himself between his legs; Iruka was so excited he didn't know how he was supposed to last.

He felt the jounins fingers pressing into him, coating him, impatient but still thorough. Iruka moaned loudly in anticipation. "Kakashi...I _WANT_ you..." He whimpered.

It was a testament to how much Kakashi wanted Iruka right back that he didn't toy with him when the opportunity so deliciously presented itself. He kissed the chuunin under his jaw, then leaned back and gripped his thighs. Slowly, Kakashi slid into him. Iruka bucked his hips and arched his back as he felt the jounin fill him. He wanted to hold him but he was too far away; he gripped the bed sheets instead.

"Please, don't tease me this time Kakashi..." He'd actually die.

The jounin answered by pulling the chuunin's hips in and out in time with his thrusts, setting a pace that had Iruka shaking. His hands itched to grip Kakashi's back, but the copy-nin wanted him where he wanted him; he was enjoying the view.

Iruka found himself rocking his hips in time with Kakashi's thrusts, and every rotation sent a spike of pleasure into his pelvis that had him sighing or moaning softly. It was building up inside of him so fast he was seeing spots behind his eyelids. He was about to beg Kakashi to go faster when he felt the jounin angle his hips higher. Kakashi finally bent over Iruka, bringing their chests together in the way the chuunin had wanted.

"Kaka-Ahhh! _Oh_..._God_..." Iruka moaned loudly into Kakashi's shoulder as the jounin pumped into him. The faster he went the harder he thrust, until Iruka's hips were folded over his stomach. He couldn't stop moaning and whimpering. Kakashi kept hitting his prostate and the pleasure was building up in his groin so intensely it felt like torture as much as it filled him with burning, clawing ecstasy. He heard heavy breathing and light gasps coming from the jounin, but Kakashi was always so in control of himself compared to Iruka.

"Aaahhh...haa...ha...Kakashi...Oh...Oh, yes..."

"_Iruka._.." Kakashi panted into the chuunins ear. "You're...making it really hard for me to last."

Iruka felt a thrill shiver down his back. "I'm...ahh...AH!"

Kakashi gripped the underside of Iruka's thighs and slammed into him, pushing him up against the headboard. He slammed, slammed, slammed...

With a sharp gasp, Iruka tossed his head, arched his back and came, hard. He curled up into Kakashi's chest, his nails digging into the jounins skin. Kakashi relaxed and let his muscles release. He continued to thrust into Iruka as the chuunin climaxed, then moaned deep in his throat and came shortly after.

His breathing heavy, the copy-nin slipped his hands under Iruka's back and tugged him down the bed a tad, so he could rest against the mattress fully. Iruka nuzzled his face into the crook of Kakashi's neck, clung to his back, and the two melted into each other so comfortably that they both fell asleep almost instantly.

ooooooooooo

Iruka woke first, half an hour later, when he tried to roll over in his sleep and was stopped by a weight on his body. He blushed furiously; he couldn't believe they fell asleep. His face continued to ignite as he remembered their extremely passionate love making session barely an hour hence. There was some...chemical aura Kakashi exuded that penetrated every pore of Iruka's skin and flipped every one of his switches. He really never imagined he'd experience anything like it. He felt...well, he felt amazing.

He also felt sticky. Sticky would not do.

"Kakashi?" Iruka murmured, stroking the jounin's back. He opened his eyes.

"It's not morning yet."

Iruka snorted. "No, but...we just...umm. We're all sweaty."

Iruka found it hilarious that he allowed Kakashi to ravage him in ways he never would have had the mind to imagine, and yet he couldn't even talk about sex to him right after it happened. It's like pre-teen Iruka would forever cohabit his adult body. "Don't you want to...well, move?"

"Nope."

Iruka wondered why his first reaction was surprise.

"Ah. Well...I'm a bit of a mess, so I'm going to take a shower, okay?"

Kakashi's head popped up. "Shower? Shower sounds good."

Iruka laughed. Kakashi had this amazing ability to swim between personalities seamlessly. One second he was...well..._amazing_ and unimaginably sexual, the next he was quirky and laidback. Iruka wondered if Kakashi was just THAT layered or if he did it on purpose.

"Well, just give me a second to get you some things." Iruka went to move, but realized Kakashi was still on top of him. "Ah, Kakashi. I need my body in order to get there."

"I like your body right where it is." He purred.

Iruka laughed and swatted him. "You've had it long enough; I need it now."

"That sounded like an order; you can't tell me what to do, I'm your superior"

Iruka gaped jokingly. "Are you pulling rank in MY house? On MY bed?"

Kakashi poked him in ribs. "On YOUR chest? Yes. That's happening."

Iruka tried to worm his way out. "Kakashi, you are honestly insufferable –eep!"

Kakashi had suddenly sat up in bed -and taken Iruka with him. "Don't just sit around, Iruka. You promised me a shower."

"...Of course, how silly of me." Iruka glared at him, but he was smiling. "I guess this means I get a ride there?"

They were in the bathroom.

What the...

"I think it's adorable how you assume I actually travel places."

"You are definitely abusing that teleportation jutsu..."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

Luckily they only had to rinse off sweat and...other fluids, because there was no washing happening in that shower. As much as Iruka tried to get down to business, Kakashi insisted he was too irresistible when wet and kept nipping or pawing at him.

The academy sensei was having a hard time NOT reacting since 'Kakashi Wet and Naked' was even sexier then 'Kakashi Dry and Clothed'.

However, there was no sex happening in THAT shower; it was meant for one person, and there were two of them. Even Kakashi couldn't manage that. So he took to pinning Iruka to the wall of the shower and sucking the water off his neck as the chuunin squirmed and tried to pretend like he wanted out. Kakashi could see through his lies.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, Iruka had the opportunity to glance at the clock when he woke up; he realized with utter dismay that he technically had to work the next day.

Next day as in...this morning.

Fourty minutes later the two emerged. Iruka glared at Kakashi heatedly; damnit, why did he have to go and get him all excited again? Kakashi got far too much pleasure in making Iruka squirm...clearly, he had a bit of a torture fetish.

Kakashi flicked Iruka in the chin. "It isn't polite to stare."

"You're a horrible tease." The sensei hissed, whipping him with his towel.

Kakashi caught the towel and yanked on it so hard and fast that Iruka didn't even have time to let go of it. He crashed into the jounin, who caught him around the waist and held the chuunin against him.

"If you wanted to go again...you just had to say so." Kakashi retorted, his voice so thick and husky Iruka actually felt his brain skip.

"Ah..." NO, damnit, this is what he wants! "Kakashi. I have class tomorrow."

Kakashi grinned wickedly. "So?"

Iruka sighed. "SO, it's already 4 o'clock in the morning! Class starts at 8!"

"...So?"

"So WHAT?"

"Quickie?"

"Q-quickie?"

"Yes, I'll make it short and sweet." He grabbed the chuunins ass and pulled their hips together.

"KA-Kakashi!" Iruka squeaked, trying to shove the other man away. "NO, damnit, we really need to go to sleep. How will my class react if I come back half dead after a week-long mission? The questions just aren't worth it."

"Iruka...it seems like you don't have a choice."

Kakashi's voice seemed strangely serious. Iruka felt a little thrill. "What do you mean...?"

"Ehem." Kakashi pointed down. Iruka looked.

His hands were bound together tightly with the towel.

"KAKASHI!"

"Don't worry –short and sweet."

Iruka was literally dragged by his bindings to the bed. Kakashi tossed him on top effortlessly. His hostage tried to make a run for it but found himself pinned down by the jounin. He tried to make his last plea about being professional and a role model, but Kakashi just threatened to gag him. Iruka was definitely not ready for that, so he stopped complaining.

The jounin lied about short and sweet, as he teased the academy sensei mercilessly, fully taking advantage of the fact that he was physically unable to retaliate. Iruka had a hard time being bitter about it as Kakashi finished him off by giving him the most amazing head he had ever had. Then he oiled them up and took Iruka slowly and gently until the chuunin kissed Kakashi's lips and begged him to finish him. Kakashi responded by turning Iruka onto his hands and knees and driving him to climax by mercilessly pounding him into the mattress.

When the two had settled, the jounin made himself comfortable and pulled Iruka against him. He very gently untied Iruka's hands and kissed him softly on the cheek. The chuunin blushed at the sudden softness.

"I'm not too much, am I?" Kakashi asked sincerely.

Iruka smiled. "No."

They kissed tenderly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

When Iruka woke, not even three hours later, he felt so lethargic he could barely move his appendages. He knew he had to get up, but his whole body felt like it was made of lead. It wasn't a horrible feeling at all; actually, it felt like he'd been pampered with massages and hot springs. His entire self was so satisfied it deemed anything else in life unnecessary.

Unfortunately, Shikamaru was officially off teaching duty today. It would be pretty senseless to have impressed everyone during the mission only to thoroughly piss off another set of people by skipping work.

He also knew if he didn't show up his students would instantly panic and assume he'd been killed in action. Some of those brats could use a bit of shock therapy, but most of them didn't deserve to be unduly scarred. He sighed loudly and went to throw off the blankets.

Oh, that was Kakashi.

He kissed the copy-kins neck. "Kakashi, I have to get up."

"We just went to bed; you're twisted."

"I'm responsible. I know that concept is foreign to you, but watch and learn."

Kakashi glared out of the corner of his eye, which Iruka countered with a dazzling smile. He pushed the unresisting body of his lover enough for him to slip the rest of his chest out. He dropped Kakashi's limp torso back onto the mattress, hopped onto the floor and made his way to his dresser, rummaging through his draws for his uniform.

Once he was dressed, he took a quick peek in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable (i.e. not like he'd been up having sex all night). He stared. Something...was off. He didn't look bad at all...it's just, something was different that he had to fix.

He surprised himself by realizing that his hair was still down. He'd left it out of its usual tie for so long that he didn't even notice it anymore. He decided it would be best to just go back to his usual style. He picked up a hair tie from his dresser and pulled his locks up into their familiar place atop his head.

"Well. I recognize you."

Iruka turned to face Kakashi who was sitting up in bed, his head resting on the palm of his hand.

"Yes...back to normal." He sighed, poking at his vest without enthusiasm.

He...felt an odd discomfort in his stomach. He was nervous. He was nervous that maybe he looked...plain? Iruka had never worried about his looks, but suddenly he was slightly anxious that Kakashi wouldn't think he was attractive in his unassuming Konoha wear.

The jounin seemed to pick up on Iruka's discomfort. He smiled. "What's the matter, Iruka?"

Iruka's head and the tomato had little in common at this point. He was most definitely NOT telling Kakashi what was wrong. "Oh! Nothing. Just a little tired. It would have been nice to get a couple of days off in between the mission and work, but...duty calls."

Kakashi's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Iruka. Why don't I take you out for dinner tonight? It'll give you a chance to relax after class."

Iruka's heart skipped a beat. His whole face beamed with his smile. "Kakashi! I would love that. How thoughtful!"

Kakashi's eyes crinkled with mirth. He didn't think it was THAT thoughtful, but Iruka adorably appreciated everything anyone did for him.

They walked with each other to Iruka's front door. The chuunin locked up, then turned to Kakashi, smiling softly. "Well. I guess I'll see you tonight, then? Where do you want to go?"

"I'll pick you up here. I haven't quite decided yet."

"Ah, that's perfect. It'll give me time to get ready."

Kakashi smirked. "Get ready? Why, aren't I lucky. Whatever will you be readying?"

Iruka inflamed. "Uh. Well. I was just thinking I'd change out of my uniform..."

Kakashi's grin widened, and Iruka wanted to melt into the ground and never return.

The infamous copy-nin braced his forearm over Iruka's head and leaned in so his lips brushed the chuunin's ear. "It doesn't matter what you wear. I'll always like you better naked, anyway."

Iruka shivered. Kakashi leaned back enough to kiss Iruka, hard, on the mouth. Their kiss lingered until they both pulled away slowly.

Kakashi winked .

"See you tonight."

Then he was gone.

Oh man. Iruka tried to remember the last child he saved from a burning building to deserve this...


	15. Chapter 15

Iruka sat at his desk as his children dutifully wrote their paragraphs on the proper techniques for evading shuriken thrown at close ranges. Iruka was very strict about this specific lesson, as he had had FAR too many close encounters with shuriken during his teaching career. He understood how sneaky those little bastards could get when lobbed at your face unexpectedly; especially right between the eyes. He swore, sometimes, that his students aimed to kill him.

He twisted in his seat uncomfortably for the millionth time and cracked an eye open to glance at his class to see if anyone had noticed.

By God, he was SORE.

Kakashi wasn't getting ANYTHING tonight; and with the way it felt to sit, definitely not tomorrow either.

Maybe not the rest of the week.

...Well. He'd have to see about that.

He noticed movement in the corner of the classroom; an adorable little blond boy had raised his hand bashfully.

Little fucking hellion.

Iruka wished that he had a 'freebie' day where he could treat the children in his class the way they truly deserved. That kid would get a sucker punch right to the face.

Then, in his usual fashion, he felt horrible for wishing such ills on a child who could barely see past the top of his desk.

"Yes, Koi?"

"UUMMMMM, Eeeeruka-sensaaaaai, I don't understand what PROJECTILE means."

Oh, you don't? You mean the FIRST THOUSAND TIMES he'd explained it hadn't sufficed? So surprising, really.

Iruka gritted his teeth and tried desperately not to wish a swift, bloody death onto the brat's fragile little head.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

"BYE IRUKA-SENSEEEIII"

"Sensei, Juurobi took home a shuriken!"

"I DID NOT! I WAS GONNA PUT IT BACK!"

"SENSEI DID YOU SEE THE PAPER I HANDED IN?"

"Sensei, my mom isn't here yet..."

Iruka dealt with the chaos of the end of the day like the professional he was. He snatched the shuriken while patting the first kid goodbye then whipped around and plucked the paper that was most definitely supposed to be handed in an hour ago while looking around curiously for the fourth child's mother.

And breathe.

"Nugako, your mother is right outside the window. TETKI LEAVE HER ALONE! I swear if you pull her hair one more time...you are never going to get married that way, so STOP ASKING EVERYONE."

Another ten minutes of madness via pre-genin and Iruka was finally alone in his classroom. He let out a long, tired yet thoroughly satisfied sigh and plopped into his chair.

Then he jumped up and wished he hadn't. Who knew there was a price for passion...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

Iruka walked into his home with that feeling of euphoria one got when they had a long, full day and their apartment was the most deliciously satisfying sight they thought they'd ever seen.

He tossed his keys, his satchel full of papers and his sandals (Iruka had this custom of being extremely sloppy right when he got home, and then cleaning the evidence vigorously soon after) and made a bee-line straight for his bed.

He hit the mattress and was out like a light before he even realized he hadn't made the bed yet.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

Iruka's eyes snapped open in alarm. Someone else was in his apartment.

No...someone was in his room.

He leaped up out of bed and made a grab for the kunai he kept under his pillow.

Oh crap, it wasn't there. It must have fallen off when...err...

Oh wait. It was Kakashi.

The jounin was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, an amused grin stitched firmly onto his features.

"So, this is why you didn't answer your door."

Iruka flushed in shame. "Y-you knocked? I'm sorry! I was exhausted when I got home and I just –my goodness, my room is a mess."

Iruka glanced around, truly, for the first time since they had gotten back the night before. He was really losing his edge.

Kakashi pushed himself off the wall with his foot fluidly and walked towards the bed. "Don't worry about it. I had a feeling you'd be asleep when I came." He held out his hand to Iruka.

The chuunin smiled and took the offered help. In a poof, they were in the kitchen.

"Kakashi...do you teleport around your apartment?"

"Nah. It's too small."

Iruka wondered what said apartment was like, but didn't have long to ponder as a steaming something was held under his nose.

Iruka, for a brief moment, thought twice about the severity of his soreness.

"TEA! Kakashi, you're amazing!" He snatched the cup, blew onto the liquid and took a long sip. He sighed loudly. "So...good."

Kakashi laughed out right. "It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?"

Iruka ducked his head slightly. "Well...I don't think so. It's the little things; like hot tea after a long day." He suddenly beamed. With a slight prance, he sprung forward and kissed Kakashi on the tip of his nose. "It's just what I needed; other than your company."

Kakashi actually blushed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "You're the first person in a long time to tell me they enjoy or look forward to my company."

Iruka hazard impishness. "Well, maybe you shouldn't be four hours late every time you agree to meet them somewhere...? It has a tendency to spoil the mood."

Kakashi pulled his mask down and stuck his tongue out.

"MAYBE maturity would help, too?"

"Alright, that's enough out of you."

Iruka laughed and dodged Kakashi's hands, which were sure to attempt to torture him in some way. He continued to sip his tea at a distance. "No foul play! I'm hurting enough as it is."

Kakashi looked worried. "I hurt you...?"

"No! No, no, it's not like that." He realized what he was about to tell Sharingan no Kakashi and his head almost combusted into volcanic like displays of firepower. "I'm...well...it was hard to sit down today."

Kakashi stared.

His face transformed into a frightening combination of satisfied, amused and predatory.

"Oh. So, I fucked you silly, is what you're saying?"

Iruka almost dropped his tea cup.

There was no way he could or would answer that.

Kakashi took his silence as a yes. "Don't worry, Iruka. With the way things are going, you'll get used to it pretty quick."

Iruka sipped his tea. He looked at the super interesting ball of dust in the corner that he really should sweep up.

He heard Kakashi chuckle. "Are you going to nurse that tea all night, or shall we get some food?"

The academy sensei downed the rest of his sweet caffeine and deposited the cup on his kitchen counter. He looked up at Kakashi with way too red of a face. "Let's go..."

Kakashi grinned. "You'll get used to the rest of me, too. I hope."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo

Kakashi teleported them to a cozy restaurant Iruka had seen many times but had never ventured into. It was one of those atmospheric places you went to when you had good company you planned to spend the night with. Iruka never expected Kakashi to want to eat there.

Iruka noted that somewhere along the journey, Kakashi had pulled his mask back up to its usual place. The chuunin thought with interest that he looked even more mysterious masked when you knew what his face looked like underneath.

They took a seat easily as it wasn't very busy in the restaurant. The "Dinner rush" didn't really exist in Konoha; most people ate with their families, and 9-5 was nonexistent, so people came and went as they pleased.

After ordering and receiving their teas, the two made themselves comfortable in their fairly private booth and regarded one another warmly.

"I like this place, Kakashi. Have you ever eaten here before?"

"Maa...not really. It isn't the place you go to eat by yourself."

Iruka ventured forward. "Do you ever go out for food with the other jounin?"

He shrugged. "Once in a while."

Iruka smiled faintly, as he felt it was the polite way to answer, but his heart was starting to twist painfully. He wanted to know everything about Kakashi, but he knew he shouldn't dive in too fast. He wanted to believe he wasn't lonely, but how could you not be if you were never around people?

"So, what do you do when you're not on missions? I think being a sensei keeps you in the village longer, doesn't it?"

Kakashi glanced to the side. Iruka couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable or not; he had his usual air about him. "It used to. I don't do much teaching these days; the kids are pretty grown up."

Iruka couldn't help but smile at the thought of Naruto. Grown up was an understatement; he was the village hero. "Yes...it's amazing. You should be proud, Kakashi. They're ARE your 'soliders'." Iruka quoted Kakashi with genuine affection. Their argument was long past him.

Kakashi hadn't looked back at Iruka. He stayed silent for a moment, and Iruka wondered if he shouldn't change the subject.

"I don't feel like I deserve much credit for Naruto's progress." The jounin finally replied. His voice was very low; Iruka could feel weight behind it.

Leaning in, Iruka tried to look Kakashi dead in the eye, but the copy-nin seemed to be lost in his own consciousness.

"Kakashi. I can tell you, for certain, that Naruto learned a lot of very important skills from you. You turned him into a shinobi. Before you had him, he could barely throw a fistful of shuriken. That's why I panicked so badly when you entered them into the chuunin exams; I had NO idea what you had done with him."

Kakashi looked up at Iruka. It made his gut twist and his heart splinter to see the uncertainty, and a glimmer of hope in his attempted bored expression. His eyes told Iruka he really wanted to believe he was right.

"I neglected him for Sasuke. I couldn't help it...Sasuke reminded me so much of myself. I thought I could help him."

Iruka glanced around the restaurant quickly; no one was really near them, and the flags hanging from their booth covered them from view anyway.

He reached out and gently took Kakashi's hand. He smiled at him. "Then, isn't it impressive that you were able to make Naruto progress more rapidly with your divided attention than any other sensei would have been able to do had they tried their hardest?"

Iruka squeezed the jounin's hand, as the other was looking at him with an expression that very clearly read "come off it".

"I'm serious, Kakashi. First of all, there are very few people in Konoha who have the patience to tolerate Naruto's antics. There are even fewer who can tolerate his antics without snapping on him viciously; your attitude was perfect for him. Not to mention...there were even fewer still who would have taught him because of who he was. Not only did you have the patience and the smarts, but you also had the heart."

Kakashi was paying attention, now. His eyes were boring into Iruka's. He had no response for him, but the sensei could tell that his words had affected him.

"I think it is all of those things together that helped Naruto progress, Kakashi. He seems to do his best when he knows people believe in him. Accepting him into your squad, and training him as one of your students was already enough for him to grow exponentially, as a person and as a shinobi."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their dinner. Iruka figured it was best, as Kakashi clearly had no response and needed time to digest what he said. The copy-nin, from what Iruka had seen so far, seemed to take his responsibilities to heart and punished himself unnecessarily for any related failures to his tasks. The chuunin wondered briefly if that had any tie into why he felt the need to visit the memorial stone so often. Kakashi had basically said, in many more words, that he felt like he had let people down. He must have taken the deaths of his loved ones as his own personal failures.

They ate the rest of their meal with companionable small talk. Iruka noticed, however, that Kakashi wasn't all there. He hoped his words had truly touched him, because knowing Naruto the way he did, there was no doubt that he was right.

Naruto had complained about Kakashi's lateness, his aloofness, his twisted sense of humour and how he paid more attention to his porn then he did to his students. But, he had also come running to Iruka with tales of their harrowing missions, the new moves he had learned, how good he was getting with his shadow clones and how many kunai he could throw at once. Iruka could see, very easily, that Naruto trusted Kakashi and felt validated by his attentions. The Naruto who came out of the chuunin exams was NOT the Naruto he had graduated from the academy; Kakashi could not discredit himself for that.

Kakashi paid their bill (he made a comment about it being compensation for abusing Iruka's sweet behind) which flattered Iruka as the chuunin had heard, numerous times, from Naruto that Kakashi was incredibly stingy. He had definitely seen no evidence of that; he paid for their groceries the night before, as well.

They walked into the night together, both strolling along with their hands in their pockets. Iruka heard a commotion ahead of them. For some reason, it made a thought come racing back to Iruka's head like an elastic band snapping.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Iruka shouted. Kakashi blinked at him.

"No, that's the fish vendor."

Iruka swatted him. "I told –well...not exactly TOLD, but eventually sort of agreed to meet Gai-sensei tonight with the other jounin. It would be so rude not to go, especially since this is the first time he's invited me. Would you mind stopping by?"

Kakashi sighed dramatically. "Maaa...I was looking forward to after date sex..."

Iruka sputtered. "K-Kakashi! I TOLD you, I...I CANT." He glared. NOTHING was getting near his "sweet behind" tonight, as Kakashi had so eloquently dubbed it.

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

Iruka glared harder.

Kakashi stared.

Iruka glared.

Kakashi sighed. "Fine. You're sitting next to Gai, though. I'm not in the mood to socialize."

Iruka would have ignored his request, except that he heard genuine wariness in the jounin's voice. He wondered if it was due to their conversation; maybe Kakashi had a lot on his mind.

His expression melted into an affectionate one. He lightly touched the jounin's elbow. "We'll only stop by for a bit, okay? Then we'll go back to my place. And CUDDLE."

He emphasized the cuddle part; seriously, he could not have sex. It would be like pouring liquid fire ants into his ass with a blow torch.

Okay, maybe not that bad. But you know.

Kakashi nodded, and then, naturally, they were at the Shaky Shinobi. Iruka was actually starting to get used to this teleporting thing.

The two of them entered and Iruka actually had to look twice. Gai, Genma, ANKO of all people, and Yamato were all lined up at the bar, obviously a few drinks deep and not shy about proclaiming it to the entire establishment.

Iruka suddenly felt incredibly nervous and out of place.

Kakashi nudged him forward.

Gai turned suddenly, noticing the pair.

"MY FRIENDS!"

The other jounin turned to look as well. Iruka blushed furiously.

Gai pushed his chair back, stood on it and leaped elegantly through the air, both toes pointed, like a graceful male ballerina.

He landed in a thinking pose before the two new additions to the establishment. After a moment of calculated pause, he exploded out into one of his favourite Saturday Night Fever esque poses of grandness.

"YOU HAVE COME!"

Iruka tried not to look as stunned as he felt. "Yes, Gai-sensei. Thank you for inviting me."

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL HAS GRACED US WITH HIS PRESENCE!"

"Yah." Kakashi responded.

"Come!" Gai opened his arms to them. "Join us by the bar!" His cheeks were flushed a very obvious alcoholic red, and yet Gai really wasn't acting out of the ordinary for himself at all. Iruka wondered if Drunk Gai = Sober Gai.

The three of them made their way over to the other jounin, who unlike Gai, were very obviously plastered.

"Well, wellllllll..." Anko slurred. "What do we have here, eehh? Iruka-ssssssensei."

Iruka wasn't sure he could handle this. He was far too accepting of his supposed role in the village, his ranking and his immeasurable politeness.

"Ah, hello Anko-san. It's nice to see you out tonight."

"HEH! You won't be saying that in a few minutes, trust me." Genma cut in, leaning over his stool precariously. "She's freakin' out of it."

Iruka laughed nervously. "I'm...sure she's just...lovely, Genma-san."

Yamato decided, even in his inebriated state, that Iruka needed saving. He leaned over Genma, slightly wobbly himself. "Good evening, Iruka-sensei. Welcome to the Shaky Shinobi; duly named." He gestured to Anko, who wasn't doing so hot on her backless stool. "Gai has told us all about your prowess on the last mission. If you're so skilled in undercover operations, maybe you should consider being a special jounin?"

Before Iruka could attempt to respond, Kakashi had stepped in between them. "Yamato, you're drunk. "

Yamato scoffed, offended. "I am NOT 'drunk', Sempai. MAYBE a little...happy. But not DRUNK. And I didn't even say anything out of place-"

"-You're drunk. Server, please bring this man water."

Yamato glared heatedly at his ex-ANBU captain and turned back around in his seat, deciding to ignore him before he caused a scene.

Iruka filed Kakashi's reaction away for later dissecting.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The two ended up staying for four hours. Not only was Gai hilarious on his own, but within thirty minutes of them getting there Anko had begun to put on such a show that there was no way in hell they were leaving until she'd either passed out or been carried home.

Iruka was actually concerned for her health and wellbeing, but found himself morbidly fascinated by the royal mess she was making of herself. He hated to admit it...but it was entertaining.

Anko, yes she did, jumped up onto the bar and began to dance for all the shocked shinobi's personal enjoyment.

" I WANT TO DEDICATE THIS SONG TO MY FAVORITE PARNET!" hic. "GAI SENSEI!"

There was no music playing and her and Gai were not "parnet's". Iruka wasn't sure if they had ever actually been teamed on a mission together.

Gai stood before Anko with his arms out towards her. "Anko-chan, please, come down from the bar at once. It is slippery with alcoholic liquid and you have no balancing skills what-so-ever at the moment."

When GAI made more sense then you, it was time to reconsider your life choices.

That just had Yamato absolutely beside himself with laughter. He had definitely reached the point of no return, although compared to Anko he was blaringly sober. Genma started clapping his hands along to a beat of his own and egging Anko on.

"Come on, Anko! Show some leg! Wooooo!"

Wrong wording, as Anko actually made to rip her tights off.

Yamato collapsed onto the floor in a crazy fit of laughter and Genma continued to clap with abandon.

Gai was dutifully trying to restrain Anko from indecent exposure.

The scene continued well into the night, including both Kakashi and Iruka into the madness as at more than one point, either of them had a lap full of drunk jounin.

Finally, the bar basically kicked them out. Gai ended up shouldering both Genma and Anko. Yamato was, amazingly, well enough to teleport himself back to his apartment. Kakashi, just in case, followed him via jutsu to make sure he actually ended up in the right spot.

Once everyone had made it home safely, the two returned to Iruka's apartment. The chuunin stumbled slightly getting through the doorway; he was a couple in himself. He couldn't get away from it; drunk people liked to make other people drunk.

Kakashi watched with distinct enjoyment as Iruka fumbled around his dark apartment.

"Damnit, where the hell is the light switch...I always know where it is- OWW!" He cursed uncharacteristically and finally located the elusive gadget.

It was a show getting Iruka out of his uniform, too. He kept stumbling sideways, then looking embarrassed and apologizing for his state of wooziness.

Finally, the two were settled into his bed. Iruka sighed and snuggled up to Kakashi's chest, very obviously satisfied with the night. He nuzzled his face into the folds of the jounin's shirt and gazed up into his eyes.

"Did you have fun?" He asked, looking uncertain.

Kakashi smiled. "Yes. I'll admit it; going to the bar was a good idea. I have so much blackmail on Genma and Anko I won't have to write mission reports for at least a month."

Iruka gasped. "Kakashi!" he swatted him. "That's illegal!"

Kakashi leaned in and nibbled on Iruka's ear. "Are you going to turn me in?" he purred.

Iruka shivered and let out the tiniest moan. His alcohol was not going to help the intensity of his reactions to Kakashi. He blushed. "No...of course not."

Kakashi tilted his head up and kissed him. Iruka moaned again, realizing instantly that he was incredibly horny. Alcohol was muddling all his senses except one. Their kiss was instantly deep and hot; both of them wanted the other.

Iruka pushed Kakashi back and climbed into his lap. He gripped the front of the copy-nins shirt and kissed him hungrily. He could feel Kakashi's heat; he rocked his hips into the jounins lap and felt Kakashi grip his waist in response. When he parted their lips to leave hot, wet kisses down his lovers neck, Kakashi tried to still his movements by holding his hips.

"Iruka-" his voice came out thick and broken, which made the sensei moan and bite Kakashi's jugular lightly. Kakashi exhaled loudly. "Iruka, I thought you said-"

"Don't worry" the chuunin murmured against his skin. He tugged at Kakashi's shirt and pulled it up. Kakashi lifted his arms, and the cloth was forsaken. Iruka left worshipping kisses down Kakashi's chest, his hands wandering slowly along his sides, finger nails scraping his skin lightly. He bit Kakashi's nipple and felt the jounin jerk against him, but the sound he made told Iruka he'd liked it indeed.

Iruka, alcohol blurring his inhibitions and insecurities, made his way down to Kakashi's hips. He grabbed the waistband of his pants and tugged. Kakashi lifted his hips and made to help, but Iruka took hold of his trousers and pulled them off on his own.

Kakashi gazed at Iruka with glazed eyes. Both his eyes were open; the sharingan staring with the same intensity as his own. His hitaiate had been removed before bed, along with his mask and vest.

The academy sensei ran his hands along the inside of Kakashi's thighs, enjoying the feel of his soft skin. He licked the spot between his thighs and cock, and felt Kakashi's legs twitch in response.

"Iruka..."

The chuunin responded by licking a circle around the top of Kakashi's balls. The jounin sucked in a sharp breath and his head fell back. Iruka glanced up at him; Kakashi looked gorgeous. Iruka needed to see him affected, he did it perfectly like he managed everything else; he was composed, but his muscles were tense and his eyes had fluttered closed. His long, strong neck was completely exposed by the way his head tilted back.

Iruka sucked, and Kakashi hissed. The chuunin worked his way up, kissing a path up Kakashi's cock. He felt every muscle in Kakashi's torso constrict. Iruka was absolutely loving it. He had no idea he could enjoy pleasuring someone so much.

Finally, he took Kakashi into his mouth and heard the jounin moan loudly in response.

"_Shit._.."

Iruka sucked, and licked, and sucked. Kakashi's hips bucked, his hand went to Iruka's hair, pulling out his hair tie and running his fingers through his locks. Iruka could tell it was taking Kakashi extra effort not to grab hold of his head and push or pull.

"Iruka...ah...I'm..." Kakashi started to warn, and Iruka simply hummed "mmhmm" onto him, which did the trick nicely. Kakashi came with a light moan, and Iruka swallowed better than he expected to. He sat up, gazing at Kakashi.

The jounin looked completely satiated. He lifted his arm towards Iruka wordlessly. The chuunin smiled sheepishly and crawled up to him. When he was within grabbing distance, Kakashi snatched him up and curled into the academy sensei like he was a body pillow. The jounin kissed his cheek, then his forehead.

"I want to keep you." He murmured into his skin.

Iruka felt his chest flood with warmth, his stomach fluttered so hard he couldn't breathe for a moment. He looked up into Kakashi's eyes. "You already have me, Kakashi..." he whispered.

The jounin began kissing his neck and shoulders. Iruka murmured something and Kakashi stopped. "Hmm?"

"Sleep...time..."

Kakashi chuckled. "Are you sure...?"

But Iruka was already asleep.

Kakashi brushed the chuunin's hair from his face lightly, watching him sleep for a moment. He'd never felt so content. He'd never felt so truly close to anyone. Iruka really did make him feel safe; maybe it was his shyness, or maybe it was his gleaming inner strength.

He leaned over and switched off the light.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

"Iruka."

The chuunin blinked his eyes open. He was still cuddled close to Kakashi, and the jounin was stroking his cheek lightly with the side of his hand.

"Mm?" Iruka attributed the horrible fuzziness in his head to his "copious" (literally two drinks) binging that night. He wouldn't say he was hung over, but...it wasn't exactly pleasant.

"I want to go to the memorial stone."

Iruka was instantly awake.

"Oh! Oh, of course." He turned his head to glance at the clock; 5:00 in the morning.

Wait.

He checked it again.

Yup. 5:00am. Kakashi went THAT early, and he was HOURS late meeting his group for their 9:00 mission rendezvous?

"Kakashi...it's so early."

The copy-nin looked bashful. "I like going when no one will be there."

Iruka was REALLY glad he had a long nap the other day. Seems like he was going to need one today, too.

Kakashi had insisted on making tea and breakfast for Iruka while the chuunin slowly woke up and got his things ready for the day.

Iruka...well. He was starting to deeply, deeply care for Kakashi. He would do anything to make him truly happy; but he was starting to get nervous about this memorial stone deal. He was starting to get an idea of the crazy kinds of hours Kakashi kept, and he was sure it was going to start to affect his teaching ability if he continued to go to work exhausted.

The chuunins mood improved significantly when he came into the kitchen, dressed and ready, to find a fresh cup of tea and a sticky bun, with a bowl of rice covered with egg and chopped bacon. His chopsticks and napkin were at the ready, poised on the edge of his teacup. He couldn't help the smile that threatened to tear at his cheeks.

"Kakashi..."

"Eat up, you'll need it."

The two of them ate together in silence. Iruka felt a little more energized with such a stimulating meal. He finished his food, topped off his tea and gathered all the dishes into the sink. When was done in the kitchen, he noticed Kakashi waiting by the door.

He rushed to join him. "Okay, ready to go."

Kakashi stared at him for a moment, as he was prone to do. Iruka had no idea what was going on inside his head; only that a lot was happening in there. Kakashi bent to peck Iruka on the lips before he opened the door and walked out.

Iruka was stunned. "We're...actually TRAVELING there?"

Kakashi smirked. "I enjoy morning runs."

The two took to the rooftops in typical ninja fashion. Kakashi kept a pace that Iruka could follow without exhausting himself, but the chuunin wasn't too bad on his feet and they were at the memorial stone in no time.

Iruka landed a few paces behind Kakashi, unsure of how much space to give him. The copy-nin approached the memorial stone slowly, in his usual laid back fashion. His slouch was back, his hands were in his pockets and his head was slightly bent. The transformation amazed Iruka.

The academy sensei tentatively walked forward, keeping a respectful distance behind Kakashi. He stopped when the jounin stopped. He seemed to gaze, entranced, at the stone for a minute. Then, he casually lifted his arm and gestured to Iruka. The chuunin followed instantly.

He was at Kakashi's side, and the infamous nin slid his fingers in between Iruka's and held his hand loosely as he gazed at the stone. Iruka wasn't expecting the closeness, but he welcomed it. Taking a tiny step in, he completely closed the gap between them and leaned on the jounin slightly, pressing their arms together. He wanted to give Kakashi warmth; visiting a memorial stone was always a cold experience.

They stayed that way, arms intertwined, for so long Iruka started to nod off. His head rested against Kakashi's shoulder, and no matter how hard he tried (and he tried damn hard) he couldn't force his lids to stay open. They fluttered closed and stubbornly stayed that way.

Kakashi smiled softly at the sight. He appreciated Iruka's silent presence; he had asked for this favour, uncertain if it was what he wanted. Now that it was happening, he knew it was. Instead of feeling empty, his heart felt...full, and tight, watching Iruka steadily offer his solace. The fact that it was ridiculously early in the morning and the chuunin had had MAYBE 4 hours of sleep just made it all the sweeter.

A voice in Kakashi's head told him he was a twisted bastard for deliberately making Iruka jump through hoops to show his devotion. He figured that voice was right; but he did not plan to do this to Iruka again. Yes, he often came to the stone this early and stayed all morning, but it wasn't necessary. He also doubted they would be staying out all night drinking again anytime soon; it was just bad timing, really.

Kakashi nudged the chuunin, who blinked his eyes open and jumped back in horror. "Oh! I'm so sorry, how rude...I'm trying to stay awake, really."

"It's alright, Iruka; here." He sat cross legged on the ground, pulling the chuunin down with him. Iruka sank to his knees fluidly. Kakashi pulled him even further; he coaxed him into his lap. Iruka leaned forward and rested his head on Kakashi's leg, uncertain.

"You don't have to stay awake, Iruka. You can rest."

The chuunin wanted, tried, to protest, but his eyelids were already dragging themselves together. Without a word, he was asleep again.

Kakashi rested his arms over Iruka and continued his private conversation with his ghosts; this time, with the feel of a warm body nestled against his own.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooo

Kakashi had woken Iruka again when it was time for the chuunin to go to work. Iruka had a horrible kink in his neck, but other than that, he felt much better after his impromptu nap. A little part of him felt guilty for sleeping all over Kakashi while the man basically mourned, but the copy-nin seemed so satisfied with the way his morning went that Iruka figured all he had needed was his presence.

"Are you going to stay a little while longer, Kakashi?"

"No." He answered with a soft smile. "I have some errands to run."

Iruka was glad. There was a very big part of him that was thrilled at the prospect of Kakashi never having to sit in front of that massive grave by himself again; or...for as long as they were together, anyway.

They walked a respectful distance from the stone before they kissed each other goodbye and parted ways.

Woo geeze, I just can't turn the smuttiness off now. But I mean, when alcohol is involved...come ooooon.


	16. Chapter 16

Iruka had a long, but eventful day at work. His students seemed to have desperately missed his attentions, because NONE OF THEM WOULD LEAVE HIM ALONE FOR A SECOND.

Kunai practice was brutal.

"Alright, everyone. Remember the rules; form a line, four in each line, at LEAST ten paces apart. YES, Koi, that is what a pace is. Okay. Stop walking now. Yes, thank you. Today we are specifically going to be working with throwing the kunai; now usually you wouldn't –SAKIYU! That was ACTUALLY Kito's face. ACTUALLY going to throw it at her face. That's it, give me the kunai. Give it to me."

"Iruka-sensei, watch me!"

"I SAID DONT THROW IT UNTIL I SAY SO!"

"Iruka-sensei, I already know how to throw kunai, look I'll show you-"

"I SAID NO!"

"Iruka-sensei, Hanabi is using her Byakugan..."

"Shut up, stupid face!"

"WAAAHHH SHE CALLED ME A STUPID FACE."

"**EVERYONE STOP THIS INSTANT! ONE MORE SLIP UP AND NO KUNAI PRACTICE!**"

"AWWWW!"

"STOP!"

There was silence. Iruka breathed a sigh of relief.

Too early.

"Iruka-sensei?"

A young brunette boy by the name of Chikyo had walked up to him bashfully.

He felt his eye twitch. He remained calm. He could not blame the actions of the majority on the one.

"Yes, what is it?"

"...I'm bleeding."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooo

Iruka, when he first got home, was happier than a pig in shit. He could not wait to put on some tea, cook himself some dinner and lay flat on his face for the rest of the night.

Then he stepped into his apartment.

"UGH."

He needed to clean first.

After sweeping up a storm and attacking the crap out of every dust bunny he found (he'd been on a week-long mission, after all) he set to straightening up his bedroom. Laundry was most DEFINITELY in order as his sheets had been positively ransacked with sexual activity.

He tried not to think too hard on the activity part; it distracted him most effectively from his cleaning.

When the laundry was in the washer, the new sheets were placed, the room was tidied and the floors were swept, he FINALLY sat down on his kitchen stool and considered what to feed himself with.

Like hell he had any energy to cook.

He sighed. He wondered what Kakashi was doing. Although, he had to admit, being by himself in his apartment was much needed. Not only had it been uncharacteristically messy, but he hadn't had a moment to just...REST in what was quickly approaching two weeks. He absolutely adored the jounin's company, but resting and/or sleep was literally not an option when he was around.

Iruka slipped off his stool and searched his cupboards for something quick and easy.

Instant ramen; he had one left.

Well. It wasn't exactly classy, but he was hungry so it had to do.

He put on a pot of water and popped the lid off the disposable cup. He was really glad Kakashi couldn't see him now.

He yawned uncontrollably as he waited for his water to boil. When it was finished, he poured it into the noodles unenergetically. He put the pot back onto the stove. He pushed the little steaming brew of powdery noodle mess off to the side, folded his arms onto the counter and rested his head there. He'd just close his eyes while he waited for dinner to cool down.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooo

Kakashi popped his head up and looked through the kitchen window. Iruka was completely passed out on the counter, a forgotten cup of crappy instant noodles shrivelling away beside him.

Kakashi smiled fondly to himself. This was pretty much exactly what he expected to see when he came by; which is why he brought delicious gifts.

Getting into Iruka's kitchen through the window was easy; he supposed the chuunin had no enemies to keep out. He silently, skilfully crept up to the sleeping sensei's side. He was actually, fully asleep.

Kakashi felt like a total dick.

He slid the noodles away from his slumbering lover and sniffed at them uneasily. Yah...no one would be ingesting THAT foamy mess tonight.

Into the trash it went.

Instead, Kakashi gently placed a bag of takeout where the cup-o-noodles had been. He hoped the smell would wake the chuunin before the food got too cold.

Otherwise he would seriously have to give him some training on detecting changes in his environment while sleeping.

The jounin was intensely tempted to give him a peck on the cheek, but decided he didn't want the chuunin discovering him. The whole purpose of him sneaking in was to give the other man his space; Kakashi realized he had a tendency to take a lot out of people.

With all the skill of an ex-ANBU assassin, he slid out of the window without a trace.

And he added a little ward on it, just in case. It made him nervous not to have the windows secured.

Shut up, he was NOT paranoid.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo

Iruka kind of...subconsciously felt something out of the ordinary next to his elbow. He couldn't place what it was; it had something to do with weight and space. Something weighed more and took up more space.

He opened his eyes slowly and glanced to the side.

"AAHHH!"

He leaped off his stool and whipped out a kunai.

What the HELL was this foreign object doing RIGHT NEXT TO HIM?

Who the HELL could have snuck into his house without him waking up and gotten THAT close...

...Oh. Probably Kakashi.

Still, Iruka cautiously approached the Package of Potential Doom.

It smelled AMAZING.

He noticed, tied to the front of it, was a leaf; Kakashi's signature on their mission.

He touched it.

Like he thought, with a 'poof' a little note appeared.

_Iruka,_

_I figured you would be too exhausted and physically exerted from our passion filled time together to make dinner. So, I brought you some. _

_Get some sleep; you'll need it._

_Seriously. Get lots of sleep tonight._

_Lots._

_Kakashi._

Iruka blushed furiously. He didn't even want to know.

But he REALLY did at the same time.

He ripped open the bag and pulled out its aromatic contents. He got to work right away.

It was freakin delicious. He was actually having a hard time chewing his food because he was smiling so damn hard at the thoughtfulness of his jounin lover. Honestly, the way Kakashi just...GAVE so naturally, it really amazed him that he could spend so much time on his own. It seemed like he was just bursting to care for someone.

He finished his quick dinner, threw out the container and went straight to the bathroom. After a very rushed shower, he booked it right to his bedroom.

He took a look at his bed. His empty, empty bed.

He NOSE DIVED into it, grinning like a kid at Christmas. The chuunin star fished out on his back and fell asleep ten minutes later.

The feeling of falling asleep in Kakashi's arms was so amazing it was difficult to put into words...

But UUGH BED TO YOURSELF!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo

Iruka awoke to his alarm clock. He yawned and stretched his muscles, popping his joints and then cursing himself for it instantly; not good for your bones!

He hazarded a guess that he had fallen asleep no later than 8 o'clock; it was 7:30.

Mmm, eleven and a half hours of sleep. Good stuff.

He wondered what Kakashi was doing. He hoped he wasn't visiting the memorial stone by himself...Iruka would feel terrible if his sleepiness at their last visit had put Kakashi off of asking him to go again. He really wanted to be there for him as often as he could.

He got ready for another day of work thinking of Kakashi. He was actually a bit anxious that the jounin was lonely right now, but was too much of a solitary creature to come to him on his own.

He shook his head. Come on, Iruka. Sharingan no Kakashi could take care of himself.

He left for work, not really satisfied that the comforting voice in his head was right.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's excellent, Chikyo. Now, staying on the topic of trajectory; if you tied an explosive tag to a kunai and threw it at the same angle...would it travel through the air the same way?"

The class pondered, looking comically concentrated.

Iruka twitched as he felt a chakra spike out the south east window. He made sure all the students were frantically checking their notes before shifting to the side and glancing out into the courtyard.

Hmm. Nothing.

He whipped back into place when he detected slight movement from his class. Someone's hand had gone up.

"Yes?"

"Ummmm, so, because of the –JOUNIN!"

The whole class turned to look in the direction the little girl was pointing.

Kakashi was hanging upside down by the window closest to Iruka. He flashed his 'v' for victory and the chuunin a cheerful eye smile.

Iruka heard his class murmur excitedly to themselves; he guessed most of them knew who the copy-nin was.

Iruka walked to the window and cranked it open. As happy as he was to see Kakashi, the middle of one of his lectures was not a prime time for conversation.

"Yo."

Iruka smiled. "Kakashi. How are you?"

The jounin rubbed the back of his neck. "Maa...well, I could be better. This is probably bad timing, but I actually really need to talk to you."

Iruka felt his stomach bottom out. What could it be...?

"Of course; just a moment."

He turned back to his class. "ALRIGHT. I have something important to discuss with Kakashi-san-"

"-OHMERGOSH, is it classified shinobi business!?"

"YEAH TELL US!"

"If it's CLASSIFIED, he can't TELL you, you IDIOT."

"HEY!"

Iruka's Teacher Vein buldged.

"Everyone...stop."

They stopped. They knew that tone. It was scarier then when he yelled.

"It doesn't matter what we're talking about; I'll be back in just a moment, alright? Listen to my shadow clone, he's going to continue the lesson. If I come back and he's been dispelled -DETENTION for the ENTIRE class."

"HEEEYYY!"

Iruka cast his hand signs and his shadow clone popped into existence. He left the poor jutsu to deal with his outraged class, hopped up onto the window ledge and gracefully landed on the grass outside of the building. Kakashi was already walking over to the lonely tree with the tiny swing; at least, it HAD been, until Pein decimated half the village.

Kakashi leaned against the charred stump with his arms crossed and a very amused grin planted on his face.

"I honestly don't know how you do that every day."

Iruka laughed and stood before the jounin, rubbing his scar. "They really are a treat, most of the time. They're just so curious about everything; they get over excited."

Kakashi's amused grin turned into an affectionate smile. "Of course."

He seemed to make a move to walk closer to Iruka, but thought better of it and stayed against the tree. Iruka fought the strong urge to swallow loudly.

"Iruka...I have a mission."

At first, Iruka actually felt relieved. He didn't know WHAT horrors he had assumed Kakashi was going to verbally bestow upon him, but a mission was not one of them.

Then, reality kicked in and he felt twice as anxious as before.

He tried desperately not to show it.

"Oh...is it...is it a complicated mission?"

Kakashi's face was unreadable. "It isn't supposed to be."

Comforting.

"Ah..."

Iruka felt his stomach doing back flips. He needed to calm down; missions were Kakashi's job. He was going to be doing them ALL THE TIME. He needed to get used to it.

"How long are you supposed to be gone for?"

Kakashi looked down. "Maybe a week; if it isn't complicated."

A WEEK? Geeze. He just came BACK from a week long mission.

Iruka wanted to slap himself. Seriously, this was a shinobi's duty. He had just been ON a mission with Kakashi.

Iruka forced himself to walk right up to the jounin, who was looking at the academy sensei as if the chuunin might bite him.

Iruka stopped at a distance that was close enough for some intimacy but far enough away for discretion and Kakashi's comfort.

"When are you leaving, Kakashi?"

"In two hours..."

Iruka cursed internally. Damnit, class wasn't over for another four hours. He had to say goodbye now. This was not ideal. He tried to stomp down the tragic sobbing his Inner Iruka was currently engaging in.

"Well. I wish you all the best, Kakashi. Please...be safe. Come back without a scratch." He added with a laugh.

Kakashi leaned in slightly. His face was stone serious; it sent chills up the chuunins spine and down through his chest.

"What do I get if I do?"

Iruka's voice tripped over itself in his throat for a moment. He swallowed it down.

"Whatever you want; I just want you to be safe."

Kakashi continued to gaze; hard, penetrating and steadfast into Iruka's eyes. The chuunin was rooted to the ground. His mind was starting to blank out on him again. He couldn't tell what Kakashi was thinking, and his seriousness was starting to worry him. He wanted to kiss him goodbye desperately, but they were right near the school and in public. He wasn't ready for people to know about them yet.

"Kakashi...what's wrong?" He asked, as earnestly as he could, but he was so affected by the jounin that it came out whispered and small.

"Too many things to fix in one lifetime, Iruka." Was his cold reply. Iruka's eyes widened in horror.

Kakashi was silent. His gaze did not waver.

"Kakashi, stop that. Please talk to me. You're worrying me."

Iruka wished SO desperately that they were truly alone; he would be holding Kakashi right now. He seemed like he really needed to be held.

Kakashi receded at that. His eyes softened, but not in a genuine way.

"I'm sorry, Iruka. Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."

"No."

It seemed to bounce off the trees. Even Kakashi looked shocked; Iruka had busted out his Teacher Tone.

"You can't look at me like that and then brush it off like it's nothing. Please, Kakashi. You're about to leave for a week; just talk to me."

Kakashi's intensity was back, but it was different. He had seemed so...viciously closed off, but bursting to be open. Now he seemed like he was tempted to completely unload and was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"I just..." He glanced away. He glared at the floor. "Iruka...this is embarrassing."

Iruka couldn't help an affectionate smile. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Kakashi. No matter how ashamed you might be of your feelings, they are still yours. I want to be here for you, and part of that is to listen."

Iruka could tell Kakashi's heart throbbed painfully at his words from the way his whole face seemed to clinch ever so slightly. The copy-nin ventured to look up again. The vulnerable look in his eyes was like a punch to Iruka's gut.

"I don't like leaving you. And then, when I think about leaving you, I think about the people I've let down...who I feel like I left, even though they left me. Then...I think about how you might feel, if I were never to come back; it might be the same way I felt, losing them. Then I feel horrible about...maybe, making you feel that way. If...if you would, which I don't know. I do... but, there's a part of me that argues that maybe you might not. I got annoyed, wondering...if you'd..."

He looked away again, his cheeks coloring. "...I'm done."

Well, that did it. Iruka didn't give a flying giant slug summon who saw them. He closed the gap between him and Kakashi, pulled his mask down and kissed him. He kissed him so hard he actually forced them to stumble backwards into the severed tree. Kakashi gripped him, steadied them both and kissed him back fiercely. He whipped them around and pressed Iruka into the bark, their bodies melding together so closely it seemed like they would pop into each other. There was so much raw emotion in their hungry kisses that both of them were panting heavily but couldn't stop for a moment. Kakashi nipped at Iruka's lips; Iruka dragged his fingers all over the jounin's torso.

When they finally broke apart, Iruka thought he MIGHT be close to crying.

"Kakashi...haa...of course I'll miss you." His face was flushed, his lips were red. He was gripping Kakashi's shirt and begging him to believe his words.

"I...I was just, trying to be strong. I mean, you're a shinobi and so am I. This is part of our lives; I have to accept it. I accept you and so I accept that. Please, if you want to do something for me, just worry about yourself. It has been so amazing being with you so far, I would never regret it, even if..." he felt his voice crack. "...I mean, even if something DID happen."

He mentally anti-jinxed himself. Shut up, jinxing exists.

Kakashi gently grasped the sides of Iruka's face, and brought their foreheads together. He seemed touched by the chuunin's words. He also seemed to be contemplating something; he was always thinking about everything Iruka said to him, like he needed to process it.

"Iruka...I don't understand. I don't understand why you keep saying I'm amazing. I know I'm an amazing shinobi...I understand my skill level. But, sometimes I wonder...if you just have terrible taste."

Iruka laughed out loud at that. He smiled, fondly, at the jounin. His hands curled around the wrists that framed his face, gently stroking them with his thumbs.

"Well. To be honest, I don't think there's anything that great about me, either. I don't really understand what you see in me. You're incredibly skilled, famous and respected. People admire you. They wonder about you...you're a mystery to them. That's exciting. All I am is me; what's so exciting about that?"

Kakashi seemed to tense. He wore the expression of annoyance one got when they heard something over and over they cared to never hear again. Like he could taste it in his mouth and it didn't taste very good.

"Exciting...that is very overrated. There's nothing exciting about me; that's why I don't understand. You aren't like that, Iruka. Things like fame don't actually impress you. I know you respect me because of what I do for Konoha, just like every other rationally thinking citizen of this village. That is really as far as it goes; I dedicate my life to my duty. I incur respect. I'm one dimensional. What's amazing about that?"

Iruka actually couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No..." He began, cautiously. "You PROJECT yourself as one dimensional. Kakashi, I'm not naive enough to think I know you inside and out; actually, the more I get to know you the more questions I have. But, from what I have seen, there are so many aspects to your personality it makes my head spin. One dimensional is the last thing you are; if you want to talk about dimensions, I'd say you're on a whole other world."

Iruka smiled, as fondly as he could. "I also think you're caring, and considerate, and good natured, and-"

"-Stop."

Kakashi said it softly, but his voice was heavy with defeat. "That's too much."

Iruka snapped his mouth shut. His heart was twisting painfully in his chest. He slid his arms around Kakashi's waist and hugged him tightly.

"Be safe. I'll miss you."

Kakashi slowly wrapped his arms around the chuunin and squeezed. He leaned his cheek against the top of the academy sensei's head for a moment.

"I'll...be thinking about you." He whispered.

Then, just like that, he was back to his wicked ways.

"Remember..." he purred into Iruka's ear. "I get anything I want if I come back without a scratch."

Iruka wasn't even fazed. "Yup. "

Kakashi didn't seem okay with that.

"Good...because I've always loved this one scene in Icha Icha Tactics, where the two main characters fuck on top of a desk in their office right when their shifts are over and there's a chance of someone seeing them. I feel like your classroom would suffice."

Iruka was speechless.

"UMMMM..."

There; now Kakashi was satisfied.

The jounin gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. It seemed to linger longer then he had anticipated...like once he was there, he was magnetized, and couldn't let go.

"See you soon." He whispered, with a bit of hoarseness to his voice.

With a poof, he was gone.

The academy sensei sighed instantly at the loss of contact. Kakashi...

Then he tried to fight down his raging blush. There was no way Kakashi would actually try his fantasy, was there? Especially when class was JUST dismissed; these were KIDS who could walk in on them!

Would he..?

Wait.

OH MY GOD, HIS CLASS!

Iruka DASHED back, praying to everything and anything that they hadn't attacked his shadow clone and dispersed to rampage the streets of Konoha and basically get him fired.

He leaped through the window.

"And that is exactly why you shouldn't cast jutsu during a lightning storm if you can help it. Ah, Iruka-sensei!" His clone greeted him warmly.

Iruka looked around.

Everyone was in their seats. Behaving. Listening.

Was this...was this a trick? An illusion?

He turned his back. He lifted a hand and made the sign for dispelling genjutsu. "Kai!"

He looked again.

It was still the same.

PHEW! Someone was actually smiling down on him today.

Except for the whole week long mission thing. That sucked.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

Iruka slowly, methodically made his dinner. His mind was light years away, however. He kept thinking about his conversation with Kakashi. The jounin had always come across as extremely confident. He didn't give a crap what anyone thought of him, because he was Sharingan no Kakashi ; so there.

So...why did he have such a hard time understanding his own self worth?

How could he think he was one dimensional? It was actually impossible for someone of his status to be one dimensional. People who were that dull lacked the creativity needed to be ANBU, jounin or anything substantial. Even when he was at his MOST laid back, his most lazy, his nose stuffed in his smutty novels...he STILL managed to land a sharp remark here and there that automatically clued you in to the fact that there was a lot more going on in his head then he made out.

The couple of conversations Iruka had had with Kakashi about...well, Kakashi, had gone pretty much the same way. Kakashi would hesitatingly admit something about himself that was utterly baseless and self-deprecating, Iruka would correct him and Kakashi would listen, absorb and process what he said –but only to a certain extent. He always seemed to have a threshold where he couldn't handle any more information. Iruka wondered...if Kakashi had never had any kind of conversation about himself with anyone else before. It was like what Iruka said was completely new to him, which is why Kakashi took everything to heart and actually pulled it apart in his head.

Iruka wondered if Kakashi knew how valuable he was as a shinboi, how skilled he was compared to most people, the extent of his talents; but not much else. THAT was probably why he had called himself 'one dimensional'; that is truly all he thought there was to his personality. There was just the infamous copy-nin. All he could see was his shinobi life, because that's what his life was. But, SOMEHOW, even though he seemed to keep most people at an arm's length, he had developed into a caring and loyal human being. He just couldn't see it, because he was too busy beating himself up for everything he assumed he had failed at.

Iruka was NOT going to try and be anyone's saviour. Kakashi didn't need FIXING (he so did, but thinking that way was dooming and Iruka knew it). But...he so desperately wanted him to see himself the way Iruka saw him, and was sure anyone who knew him (whoever they were...) saw him as well.

He sighed in annoyance and hacked up a carrot. He just wanted him to come home safe from his mission.

And...for Tsunade to forget about him for a while.

Maybe he'd "lose" Kakashi's folder at the mission desk...

NO. He could not do that. Konoha needed Kakashi; that was a sick thought.

...Well. Maybe just for a MONTH or something.

NO IRUKA!

Damnit. He hated being nice.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo


	17. Chapter 17

WOW, so, I was supposed to be studying all day today. I did like 2 hours of studying...and maybe 4 or 5 hours of this fanfic. SO HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER! :D Time to go and NOT fail my exams.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

Iruka went about his week with the greatest effort not to let the constant, unfamiliar and utterly uncomfortable feeling of loss affect his performance at work.

The first half of the week was the hardest, as he actually found himself yearning for Kakashi at night as he lay in bed attempting to relax and NOT think uncharacteristically dirty thoughts. It was like the flood gates had opened and now he craved the jounin's warm, soft and gorgeously toned body like he was a parched desert wanderer desperately searching for water. The first night Kakashi left he had tossed and turned until two o'clock in the morning, wondering what the copy-nin would do to him when he got back.

Iruka wasn't used to craving another person the way he craved Kakashi and he felt almost ashamed of himself. He swore he liked Kakashi for his personality and his warm heart, and NOT for everything else that came attached to him.

Most specifically things that were attached to him.

He almost smothered himself to death with his pillow on the second night in a desperate attempt to FALL ASLEEP ALREADY.

By the middle of the week, his hormones had settled down enough for him to fall asleep within a reasonable time frame and NOT wake up upset that he had no one to cuddle with.

By that time he also wasn't spending his entire lunch break wondering if Kakashi was trapped, bleeding and broken, in a cave with only his smarts to keep him alive.

He realized he was being UTTERLY ridiculous, but it was like he had no control over himself.

Kakashi had not made it this long and come this far for nothing. He was fully capable of taking care of himself. If Iruka thought rationally, the ONLY times Kakashi had been dragged back to the village near-death from chakra depletion (or...didn't come back at all) were when he went up against shinobi GIANTS like Itachi or Pein. What were the chances of him running into someone like that on a routine (he at least assumed it was routine...) mission?

He almost slapped himself when he realized, yet AGAIN, that he was thinking way too hard about Kakashi's mission.

He almost kissed his co-worker when she walked up to him with her lunch tray and asked if she could join him.

YES. YES SHE COULD.

Actually, PLEASE FREAKIN' DO.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooo

Iruka sat at the mission desk that night, twiddling his pen, trying his absolute hardest not to fantasize. He knew he was way too expressive to do that out in the open; he'd start blushing or something and then Kotetsu would NEVER leave him alone until he found out what he was thinking about.

"IRUKA!"

The chuunin, with every ounce of his self control, kept from leaping out of his chair. Instead he kind of just...launched his pen up into oblivion.

Kotetsu laughed.

"Geeze. You've been out of it all day. I know it's dead and boring as HELL, but you're usually so alert."

Thankfully, Iruka was a quick thinker.

He sighed. "Just thinking about lessons...some of my students have really been struggling and I'm trying to figure out how to help them."

Pride surged through Iruka's veins when he saw the impish look on Kotetsu's face vanish instantly and be replaced with concern.

"Aww, well, sorry to bug yah. That sounds much more like you. I bet if you just take them aside and give them a little extra help they'll bounce right back in no time."

Iruka wondered if maybe he SHOULD be a special jounin. But what would his 'specialty' be? Talking?

Iruka smiled amiably at his friend. "Thank you, Kotetsu. I was considering that; I think they just lack confidence."

"Yaahh...well, it isn't really easy to be confident with –SWEET MOTHER OF ALL SHINOBIS!"

Kotetsu had jumped up out of his chair so fast it flew backwards and crashed into the wall.

Iruka was instantly on his feet.

He gaped.

It was Izumo; he was COMPLETELY covered in blood.

Kotetsu had gone totally white.

"IZUMO! What the HELL! Go to the freakin' hospital!"

Kotetsu launched himself over the mission desk and ran to his friend. He stopped short when Izumo wordlessly held up his arm and presented him with something.

It was his mission report.

"Mission accomplished. Please file this; it's incredibly important."

Kotetsu stared, stunned.

Iruka ran up to the two best friends. He gently pried the mission report from Izumo's fingers; there were five little blood finger prints on the end of it.

"Thank you so much for your hard work, Izumo. Kotetsu, please take him to the infirmary; quickly."

Kotetsu kicked into action. He grabbed his friends arm and spun him around, leading him out of the room.

"Man, are you trying to give me a heart attack!? What the hell happened!"

"I...was just supposed to accompany Kakashi. Kind of like emergency backup; but I was totally useless."

The mention of the jounin's name smacked Iruka in the head so hard he actually stumbled a bit on his way back to the desk.

"You guys got attacked?" He heard Kotetsu reply, clearly alarmed.

Their voices were starting to drift off, but Iruka caught one last snippet.

"Ambushed; guess they were waiting for us."

Iruka sank into his seat.

Izumo was back; but where was Kakashi?

Knowing the jounin, he would never let a comrade into a fight he couldn't handle. He probably sent Izumo away.

But what did that mean for him?

Iruka was pretty sure he was going to throw up, but there was no one left to man the mission desk.

He sat there, a million miles away, trying not to panic.

He hadn't felt so horrible since his parents died.

He was starting to understand why Kakashi didn't keep many friends.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooo

When Iruka's shift had ended at the mission desk, he went straight to the infirmary to check on Izumo. He breathed a long, blissful sigh of relief when the nurse told him Izumo had looked WAY worse then he actually was. Most of the blood on him was not his, and his own blood had been splattered all over him in battle or when he had made a run for Konoha.

Iruka sat on the edge of the bed, regarding his two friends with warmth.

"How are you feeling, Izumo?"

The chuunin sighed harshly. "Honestly, Iruka? Embarrassed. I don't know WHY they sent ME. I mean...no, I do know why. It was supposed to be simple. Really, I'm all the backup he should have needed. But...it turns out, they were expecting us. So there were three times as many of them as we thought."

Iruka wanted, SO BADLY, to ask what the hell the mission was and who 'they' were, but until the Hokage reviewed the mission report and deemed it public knowledge, he had no right to pry.

"Izumo..." he started, trying his damned best to sound casually concerned. "What happened to Kakashi?"

Izumo reddened considerably. "I don't know, Iruka. I helped him out as best as I could; I took out a couple of guys! But, I'm not used to fighting so many shinobi at one time, and I was just getting in his way. He told me to take the info from the mission and get back to Konoha. I sent for reinforcements to help Kakashi as soon as I got back..."

Izumo sighed. "Honestly, though? I'm almost 100% sure that he's fine. He was decimating those creeps when I left. All they had in terms of power was sheer numbers; which was enough to stop me, but not Kakashi. That guy is brilliant. They sent Gai and Neji to help him; there's no way he's not coming back."

Iruka almost passed out, he was so relieved. If Izumo was confident that Kakashi was alright, he would believe his friend. He was a smart, level headed chuunin; he wouldn't misjudge a situation that badly.

The academy sensei leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on his fellow chuunins shoulder. He smiled reassuringly.

"Izumo...you shouldn't be so ashamed of yourself. Comparing your skills to Kakashi's is meaningless. You did everything you could, and that is what makes you a good shinobi. Especially if you can set aside your pride to do what you really think is best for a comrade."

Kotetsu sent a grin his friend's way, and Izumo looked successfully comforted.

"...Well...I guess you're right. It's just a horrible feeling, leaving someone behind like that."

Iruka felt, not for the first time, pride surge in his chest at the admirable shinobi Konoha possessed. This is why he fought so hard for his village; it was really a wonderful place full of wonderful people.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Iruka tossed and turned so violently in his bed that he flipped onto his back and decided to give up on sleeping. Seeing as backup, good backup, had been sent HOURS ago, the fact that Kakashi wasn't back yet was taking years off his life.

Maybe Kakashi had to go straight to the hospital. Maybe he was talking with the Hokage. Maybe he got patched up and then went straight home. There were SO many explanations, but of course, all Iruka could think about was Kakashi covered in blood the way Izumo had been.

He sighed harshly and got out of bed. He walked into the middle of his living room, moved some furniture around, rolled up his carpet and fluidly entered into the first stance of one of his favourite stress relieving katas.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

Iruka woke the next morning with a searing headache. He smashed his alarm clock and threw it across the room. He hadn't ever remembered when he'd woken up in a worse mood.

The fact that he'd slept three hours was not helping.

His kata had succeeded in tiring him out, but it hadn't made him stop worrying. He'd exercised for an hour, gotten back into bed, and then sat there physically exhausted but mentally wired. He hadn't fallen asleep for another two hours.

The fact that there was STILL no sign of Kakashi also contributed to his lack of early morning cheer.

When he got to school, he was in SUCH a terrible mood he actually had no idea how he was going to teach. He did not want to snap on any of his students just because he was miserable.

When he finally stood before his class, their little faces expectant, he had a brilliant idea.

He was a DAMN good teacher, and he rarely took shortcuts in any area of his life. He deserved one now.

"You know what, class? You all did such a great job on your taijutsu reports that I think you deserve a little reward."

The looks on their faces made his deviousness worth it.

"Free period!"

A moment of silence.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!"

Every single one of them literally leaped up out of their seats at the same time. They rushed past him like he'd told them there was a mountain of candy available to the first person who could reach it. Some of them even hugged him.

"REMEMBER, free periods are to be taken on SCHOOL PROPERTY!"

"HAAAI, Iruka-SENSEEEIII!"

And, just like that, the classroom was empty.

Iruka cast a shadow clone to keep an eye on his students then sank despondently into his chair and tried to keep his anxiety to a level his psyche could handle.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo

Iruka returned home in a far better mood then when he'd left it. His students could be terrors, but working with them fulfilled him in ways not much else could. The free period had put them all in a tremendous mood, and the day had gone by without a hitch. Even the usual trouble makers had kept their places with a happy smile plastered onto their little faces.

Iruka was starting to think free period was a good way to start every day...

Except now he was home, alone, with his thoughts. He had at LEAST stopped over thinking things and had settled into a constant state of numb worry. He had run into Kotetsu on the chuunins way to the missions desk and had asked him, casually, if he'd heard anything about Kakashi.

"No, actually. I was with Izumo until he was released late last night and Kakashi never showed up at the hospital."

Needless to say, their conversation hadn't helped.

Iruka went about making his dinner. He had some tea, marked some papers and tidied up his apartment. He considered wandering outside and asking on the whereabouts of Gai. Not many people ever knew were Neji was (presumably always at home) but Gai tended to make himself known.

No. He wouldn't do that. He would RELAX, go to sleep, and then Kakashi would probably be back tonight or tomorrow.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo

By day three, Iruka was starting to lose it.

It had almost been a week since Kakashi had left. Iruka's sensible side supposed that, with the backup he'd been supported, Kakashi must have continued on with the mission. Maybe they'd discovered some new, important information and had decided to check it out themselves. Kakashi, Gai and Neji made a pretty potent team.

Not to mention the fact that if Kakashi, and his rescuers, were missing, he would have heard about it by now. No news meant good news in the shinobi business.

However.

Try telling his stupid heart that.

Iruka was able to continue with his teaching and his socializing due to his logical intelligence and his knowledge of the workings of the shinobi world, but it wasn't without consequence. Deep down he was still worried, and the bags under his eyes were proof of it.

He slept, but it usually took him a couple of hours to fall asleep. Going to bed any earlier didn't help, so he just sucked it up and took the loss of sleep for what it was and went on with his business.

On day seven of the 'mission', Iruka numbly crawled into bed and readied himself for a couple of hours of tossing and turning. He was trying not to panic as the official 'week' mark had come and gone and Kakashi was still nowhere in sight. He made himself comfortable on his side and tried to meditate his way into slumber.

Around an hour in, he sensed something. Someone was putting chakra into his window. Why the hell would anyone do that...?

Were they breaking in..?

No. He recognized that chakra.

He heard the window open. He heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. To describe his heart as pounding in his chest would have been the most vastly understated piece of information to exist since the universe was created. He actually thought he might be having a heart attack.

Kakashi popped his head through the door of the bedroom. "Iruka...?"

Fuckin WHAT.

Iruka actually blasted off his bed with chakra and everything. Half of his sheets went flying off the mattress.

He smashed into Kakashi, who had sensed his chakra spike and was waiting to grab him.

Still, the jounin stumbled and had to brace himself against the door frame. Iruka was almost strangling him he had his arms wrapped around his neck in the most intense, vice like hug Kakashi had ever experienced from someone who wasn't trying to kill him.

"OHMYGODIHAVEBEENSOWORRIEDICA NTBELIEVEYOURHOMETHANKGOD!"

Iruka hadn't been lying when he said he wasn't a crier; but he sure as shit was crying right now.

Kakashi was just...stunned.

"Iruka...wha...why are you so upset? It's been a week, right? I'm not late, am I?"

Iruka pulled back and gazed, totally unashamed of his manly tears of joy, into Kakashi's face. The look of sheer confuzzlement on the jounin's features had Iruka slightly questioning his own sanity.

"Ka...Kakashi, Izumo...don't you remember? You sent him back bloody from an ambush. He had no idea what happened to you. We haven't heard any word. I've been...well...I mean, I KNEW it was foolish but I couldn't help but be worried."

Kakashi could definitely see Iruka had been worried. He'd never seen anyone react to him like this before. He had a moment of...well, his heart felt so full it actually clenched on him. He could tell Iruka cared, but to care this much...Kakashi was truly touched.

The moment only lasted as long as it took Kakashi to piece together the COLOSSAL amounts of shit he was about to be in.

.

He had NOT thought about the fact that Iruka could have potentially been in contact with Izumo.

WHY the fuck he had not thought of that was ACTUALLY beyond his supposed genius to comprehend, which was also in question from such a STUPID FUCKING BLUNDER.

Kakashi was so pissed off at himself he wasn't paying attention to hiding his facial expressions. Iruka could see him go from shocked, to deeply touched...to nervous...to guilty.

"...Kakashi...?"

The copy-nin swallowed. His automatic reaction was to try DESPERATELY to outsmart the situation and potentially save his and Iruka's relationship.

But he knew full well he deserved the wrath that was most assuredly coming to him.

"Iruka...I..."

He took a deep breath.

"The thing is; I got back from the mission the same night Izumo did."

Iruka gaped.

"What...?"

Oh yah. Here it comes.

"I defeated the rest of the ambush party and headed back. I met up with Gai and Neji, but since the mission was over, they turned and followed me home. When I got back to Konoha, I went to speak to the Hokage right away. The mission was to take out a potential mercenary threat; the same ones that were hired from the boycott. When I debriefed Tsunade about the ambush, she wanted me and Gai to stay on guard duty at the gates in case anyone tried anything. She sent Neji out to scout the forest."

He swallowed. "I...well, since I already told you I was going to be gone for a week, I just didn't see the point in letting you know I was back only to tell you I had to go on guard duty for a few more days. I guess you could have visited, but it was potentially dangerous, and I...umm..."

Kakashi could not continue from the absolute BLOOD LUST that was gleaming in the chuunin's eyes.

"Kakashi."

"...Ah. Yes?"

"You didn't think to let me know YOU WERE ALIVE!?"

Iruka let go of Kakashi's shoulders, leaped away from him and stared him down with such intense anger Kakashi actually took a few cowardly steps back.

"Iruka, I am so sorry. I...I don't know HOW I couldn't have taken into consideration-"

"-THE FACT THAT I SEE IZUMO ON A NEAR DAILY BASIS!?"

"Ah...yes...that..."

Kakashi looked positively terrified, but it was not enough to satisfy Iruka.

Somewhere, hidden in the boiling rage, Iruka's logic was trying to reason with him.

Kakashi had made it out of a potentially deadly situation VERY much alive and seemingly unharmed. This should be a joyous occasion. He should be HAPPY.

FUCK THAT.

"KAKASHI...I...I...UGH!"

Iruka reached behind him and whipped an object (it was his poor alarm clock) at Kakashi so hard that when Kakashi dodged it, it exploded into such tiny pieces Iruka couldn't tell what was what when he finally went to clean it an hour or so later.

Kakashi took two more steps back. His hands were up in the typical sign of "I surrender; please don't hurt me", his eye smile was in place, and he was trying to be as cheerful as possible to diffuse the situation.

"Okay. I can definitely understand why you're mad-"

"NO YOU CANT!" Iruka was crying even more now, which just pissed him off further.

"You absolutely CANNOT because YOU were not the one losing _ABSURD_ amounts of sleep stressing!"

"Iruka..."

"I can't BELIEVE I spent so much energy worrying about you and you were AT THE FREAKIN GATES THE WHOLE TIME!"

"..."

Kakashi had kind of made a little ball of his torso. He was NOT hiding the fact that he was effectively shamed and cowed, but he most definitely was not going to say a word until Iruka was done venting. Anything he said would be dynamite.

Iruka was panting heavily by the time he was done screaming. He felt completely ridiculous, which, again, added to his rage. He did feel a LITTLE better now that he'd gotten what he needed to off of his chest (not to mention the fact that Kakashi looked like he wanted to run for his life) but he was still astronomically furious.

Kakashi gave the chuunin a few moments before he straightened himself slightly and cleared his throat.

"Iruka..." he ventured very, very timidly.

He was allowed to continue.

"I...I can't tell you how sorry I am, really. I don't have an excuse. I'm just...I'm not used to considering another person when I do something. I've been alone for as long as I can remember. That's not an excuse, by any means. I just want you to know I didn't neglect you because I don't care. If I had any idea you knew what happened I would have come to you right away."

"..."

Iruka's body relaxed slightly.

The throbbing vein in his forehead disappeared.

What Kakashi said made sense. The jounin had only just begun spending time with Iruka; there was very good reason to believe he had no idea who Iruka saw and didn't see in the missions room (Even though it was pretty obvious. But, Kakashi had a way of just floating by most days, not paying attention to anyone). He was right, also, about never having to account for himself to anyone before. Kakashi was just doing what he naturally did.

It pained Iruka to think he'd just forgotten about him, but he tried not to get emotional and remembered that Kakashi had made sure to say it wasn't a personal matter; he just...didn't think of it because his mind wasn't wired that way.

By the time Iruka was done reasoning with himself, his Murder Rage mode was gone.

He sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head. "Kakashi..."

The jounin saw this as an invitation, and he stepped closer to his pacified sensei.

"Iruka, I really am sorry. I feel...I feel terrible. I can't believe I made you suffer so much."

A little bell went off in Iruka's head. Oh wait. It was probably best for Kakashi's psyche if he DIDNT think he had just tortured the person he had expressed, not a week ago, serious concerns about hurting. The last thing Kakashi needed was more things to beat himself up over.

That was all it took to dissipate Iruka's anger completely.

"Kakashi, I...wouldn't say...SUFFERING..."

More like torture.

"Look...I'm sorry I yelled at you. I really am just glad that you're back, and you're not hurt."

Kakashi beamed.

"But I was hurt! I got stabbed; does that make you feel better? At least I suffered, too."

Iruka's jaw dropped.

"You got STABBED!?"

Kakashi balked.

Oops.

Plan a failure.

"Ummm..."

"_KAKASHI._"

"Ah. It was only a little stabbing...?"

Iruka...just...

He...

He didn't even...

Iruka felt like a kitchen appliance on the fritz. He was pretty sure his hair was a disaster, bags under his eyes, TOTALLY mentally and physically exhausted.

He whimpered.

Kakashi looked like he'd resolved himself to something.

"Iruka, I'm sorry, I am obviously making things worse. I'll just go and give you your space."

Iruka panicked. Actually panicked.

"**NO!**"

Kakashi looked stunned.

"NO, don't you dare leave. That is the LAST thing that I want."

Kakashi played it cautious. "Alright, Iruka...what do you want?"

The rest of Iruka's energy seemed to leave him.

"Just...hold me, please."

Kakashi was in front of Iruka and scooping him up in one fluid movement. They clung to each other like it was the last time they'd ever be together.

Iruka just...could not stay mad at Kakashi, not when he was so genuinely sorry.

"Iruka...I really feel like I shouldn't be here." Kakashi whispered into the chuunins neck. "I screwed up, I should leave. How can you stand to be around me?"

Kakashi sounded so truly confused that Iruka pulled back from him a little so he could see his face.

He pulled down the jounin's mask gently, smiling at him.

"I'm still a little mad, but...there are more important things. I missed you, and now your here. I can't send you away just because I'm mad."

Now it was Kakashi who was in pain. Iruka was taken aback at the emotion gleaming in his eyes.

"I...warned you. I'm not reliable."

Iruka pulled his head back, just a little...then slammed his forehead against Kakashi's.

The jounin's eyes popped out of his skull as his head snapped back.

"OWW! Wha-Iruka-What the!?"

"Stop that." Iruka demanded flatly.

Kakashi stared, flabbergasted.

"I won't have any more of that. No more talking down about yourself, Kakashi. Here is the truth; EVERYONE makes mistakes. Yes, you...you REALLY screwed up, but you know what? I am 100% confident that I will hurt you, as well. Who knows when or why, but everyone has their personal sensitivities. Eventually I am going to push one of your buttons and you're going to be hurt and mad at me. BUT...that's the way it goes. You can't have relationships without pain; and I choose relationships, so I'll take the pain."

Kakashi's stunned expression had melted into a warm gaze. It was the most calm and composed Iruka had seen him during one of his little speeches.

"Kakashi...did you learn from today?" He asked softly.

The jounin snorted loudly. "Ah. Yah. I would say so."

Iruka smiled. "Then...that's it. It's only bad if you keep making the same mistakes without trying to fix them."

Kakashi's expression, characteristically, turned wicked. "Maa...who says I won't? I'm pretty lazy, Iruka."

Iruka replied calmly.

"If you hurt me, knowingly, over and over, then you won't have me for very long."

Kakashi shrunk back, effectively cowed.

"Ah. Of course. Sorry...that wasn't very tasteful."

"Kakashi?"

"Yes...?"

"No more talking from you today."

"...Yessum."

The way things were going, Kakashi preferred it that way.

Iruka fixed Kakashi a quick snack, as the jounin had run straight from guard duty to Iruka's place (which warmed the chuunins heart further), Kakashi took a shower and then they were both in bed together, curled up tight.

Iruka had just switched off the light when he heard Kakashi murmur his name.

"Mm?"

"I...don't know if this comment is uncalled for, given...what you had to go through. But...Iruka; thank you for caring so much."

The chuunin smiled brightly to himself in the dark. He rolled over to face the jounin. He could see his face outlined in the moonlight.

"You deserve it, Kakashi."

The jounin looked like he was fighting with himself not to respond in the negative. He glanced down at Iruka's lips. He seemed to decide what his answer would be instead.

Iruka tilted his head up. Kakashi took the hint and kissed him softly.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooo

WEE! Well, hope ya'll enjoyed that! :D


	18. Chapter 18

Ooooooooooooooo

Iruka found himself slowly waking up, even though it was still clearly the dead of night. It took him a moment of laying still in a half-asleep daze to realize why: Kakashi was still awake. He didn't know HOW he knew, but he could almost feel the cogs in the copy-nins brain grinding together. Maybe it was shinobi instinct; or maybe Iruka had super human intuitive powers.

"Kakashi?" He asked the darkness.

The jounin didn't answer right away, as if he was considering pretending he was asleep. He seemed to think better of his plan.

"It's alright, Iruka. Go back to sleep."

Iruka rolled over to face the jounin; his eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark enough for him to see his expression well, but he had a feeling Kakashi was troubled. His body felt stiff.

"What's the matter?" He asked, as softly as he could.

He could see Kakashi close his eyes.

"Nothing."

Most loaded nothing ever.

Kakashi was straight forward about everything except anything personal. There was clearly something wrong.

Iruka wasn't sure how much to push him, but if it had to do with their argument, the chuunin wanted to set his mind at ease.

"Kakashi...is it about the mission?"

Kakashi's eyes snapped open. He narrowed them, so spitefully Iruka almost jumped out of the bed.

"I told you it was nothing. I don't understand why you assume I owe you an explanation for everything."

Iruka felt his heart twist in a horribly painful, and slightly nauseous fashion. He suddenly felt the hurt replaced by embarrassment and anger. Without a word, he stiffly turned away from Kakashi, plopped himself back down onto his side facing the wall and closed his eyes.

Wow. He wanted to be like that? Fine. Fuck it. He could sit there and rot in his own teenage angst.

Iruka was so furious and hurt that he didn't notice the gradual shift in the man behind him.

_What the HELL is his problem? HE'S the one who screwed up and he snaps at ME when I try to help him? And what does he mean, 'owe me an explanation for everything?' He is the only person I've ever met who has such a damn problem talking about himself. It's not like I'm asking him his deepest, darkest secrets. If he'd just freakin TALK to me I wouldn't have to ask him what was REALLY on his mind every damn-_

"-Iruka?"

Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin. Kakashi was hovering over him tentatively.

The chuunin unconsciously curved his shoulders in towards himself and clamped his mouth shut. Definitely not in the mood to talk right now.

After a few moments of I'm Friggen Pissed silence Kakashi very, very gently placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Iruka. You didn't deserve that."

Yah, no shit.

Iruka still didn't –couldn't- answer.

He felt like one of his students, but he really couldn't help it. Kakashi was NOT on a roll today and it was affecting Iruka more then it logically should have. He guessed this is what happened when you cared about someone; everything they did affected you twice as much as anyone else.

Kakashi sighed and flopped onto his back, glaring at the ceiling in frustration.

_Why the hell did I have to go and say that? Now he's just going to be even more mad at me then before. This is a complete mess; why did I think I could do this?_

Kakashi tried to snuff his growing panic at the situation. Iruka was incredibly patient and kind; he had already proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he cared enough about Kakashi (who the hell knew why...) to work things out. He wasn't going to tell him to fuck right off forever because the copy-nin screwed up twice in a row.

...Would he?

No, of course he wouldn't.

...

Kakashi spun around again.

"Iruka, I'm sorry. I just wanted some time to iron things out in my head. I was thinking I would have the whole night; I didn't think you'd wake up. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I just wanted time to think and I didn't know how to ask for it."

Iruka's shoulders softened. He breathed deeply, deciding from the worried tone in the jounin's voice that he was being earnest. It was pretty much fact by this point that Kakashi's communication skills needed serious maintenance.

At least he was good at explaining himself...

Iruka turned over slightly so he was looking up at Kakashi. His anger evaporated at the distraught look in the copy-nins eyes. It still amazed Iruka how expressive Kakashi could be when he let himself.

"I can tell you how."

Kakashi blinked. "Ah...what?"

"I can tell you how you could have asked."

The panic left Kakashi; Iruka's tone was soft, so he meant what he said.

"Alright; tell me."

"'I just have a lot on my mind and I'm taking some time to think. If you still want to know, I can talk to you about it in the morning.' Or something like that. Is that what you meant?"

Kakashi paused.

"Um. Yah, pretty much."

Well. Way to make him feel even more like an idiot.

Iruka reached up...and pinched Kakashi's cheek lightly.

"You'll get it eventually."

And with that, he rolled back around completely and closed his eyes, ending the conversation.

Kakashi sank back down to the mattress, feeling like he'd dodged another bullet, and wondering to himself if he really ever would 'get it'.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke the next morning to a lovely smell wafting into the bedroom. He yawned loudly and tried to fall back asleep. It was Saturday, the one day he really got to sleep in, and he needed it. Not to mention he hadn't exactly slept all that fabulously that night.

To his surprise, he actually nodded off soon after he closed his eyes.

When he woke again, the smell was still there. It was stronger than before. He rolled over; Kakashi was gone. Iruka smiled to himself, wondering if the jounin was making breakfast.

When he tentatively entered the kitchen, he saw the table set for two, with Kakashi placing the finishing touches by pouring them both a glass of water. He stood straight when he saw Iruka. He looked to the side, uncertain of how the chuunin was feeling.

"Morning." He greeted, with a kind of lopsided smile.

Iruka smiled, brightly, back at him. "Good morning, Kakashi. Thank you for making breakfast."

'I'm slowly working my way out of the doghouse' didn't seem like the proper response, so he decided to play it safe.

"You're welcome." He smiled back, feeling better about the morning from Iruka's apparent good mood. "It's ready for you, if you want."

They sat down together and ate breakfast in comfortable silence. Kakashi seemed to be a bit nervous about something, though. Iruka was definitely NOT going to ask him what was wrong after last night; he assumed the jounin would eventually tell him.

He was right.

"Ma...Iruka?"

The chuunin glanced up from his eggs. "Yes?"

Kakashi looked down. "I...I'd really like to go to the memorial stone this morning. Please?"

Iruka snapped to attention. "Of course! We'll go as soon as I clean up." He stood immediately and reached for their plates.

Kakashi's hands closed around his wrists. The chuunin glanced up in surprise.

Their eyes met.

"I'll take care of the dishes. Just focus on waking up and getting ready; and take your time."

Iruka could see genuine gratitude in the jounin's eyes. It also seemed...like there was a dull ache permeating out of his entire countenance. Iruka could tell the night had taken its toll on the copy-nin emotionally, and Iruka felt like a horrible person for it. He hadn't had a moment to really 'welcome' him back from his mission, which he was SUPPOSED to be thrilled about since Kakashi had come back safe once again.

Iruka let go of the dishes, and Kakashi released his wrists. Iruka did not leave, though. His hands slowly lifted to Kakashi's face, where he gently cupped his cheeks. Kakashi seemed surprised, but he didn't move. Iruka leaned in, and pressed a kiss so soft it barely registered onto Kakashi's lips. He let his lips linger, then pulled away slowly. He smiled at Kakashi's Unreadable Expression.

"I'm glad you're back."

Kakashi stared at Iruka, hard, for a few moments. Iruka actually felt himself falter under his gaze.

"The memorial stone can wait."

Iruka squeaked as Kakashi launched himself over the table and scooped Iruka up into his arms.

"Kaka-"

"-I want you. Right now."

Wha wow!

Iruka's mind sputtered out.

Kakashi's body felt like it was on fire and he held Iruka close to him as he pinned him with an absolutely scorching gaze.

"Let me have you, Iruka." He breathed.

"..O...Uh...Yes..."

That was enough for Kakashi.

Iruka was over his shoulder one moment and smacked down onto the mattress the next. Kakashi descended upon him and their lips were together in such a frenzied, passionate kiss that Iruka could literally feel nothing else. All of his want of the other man came back in an instant and he was kissing Kakashi back with such abandon that he was moaning uncontrollably.

Clothes flew off with barely any thought, their bodies scraping together with need. They were both panting heavily and Iruka never would have thought it possible to be so hard, so fast. Kakashi reached down and gripped Iruka's cock and the chuunin actually yelled, throwing his head back.

"Oh fuck...Kakashi..." He panted. His arms were wrapped tightly around the jounins neck, and he gazed, red cheeked and glossy eyed, up at his lover. "I...I wanted you so badly...haaa...haa!" His head fell back again as Kakashi began to pump him steadily.

"Oh?" Kakashi breathed as he kissed Iruka's open mouth. "When did you want me?"

Iruka couldn't believe he could still blush at this point. He assumed all the blood in his body was elsewhere.

He tried to answer the jounin, but he could barely think. He was already starting to feel close to the edge.

Kakashi slipped a slick finger inside of him and Iruka snapped back to attention. His hips bucked and he whimpered against the jounin's lips. He had no idea when Kakashi had gotten any kind of lube, but that was the copy-nin for you.

"When...you were gone." He answered, completely embarrassed by the conversation but so drunk on pleasure that he went along with it anyway. "I kept... thinking about you...at night...AHH! Ohhh yes...yes..."

Kakashi began to stroke Iruka from the inside, pumping his finger in and out of the chuunin slowly, kissing his exposed neck.

"I know it was worse for you..." the copy-nin whispered against Iruka's flesh. "But knowing you were so close and yet I couldn't go to you was torture."

The jounin suddenly withdrew his finger and released Iruka's hardness. The chuunin would have protested, except he felt Kakashi spread his legs and he almost moaned in anticipation. His legs were trembling slightly, he wanted the copy-nin so badly.

Without any hesitation, Kakashi penetrated Iruka completely, smacking their bodies together. Iruka lost it.

"OHHH YES. Yesyesyesyes."

The chuunin wrapped his legs around Kakashi's waist and clenched his muscles. Kakashi saw stars for a moment.

"You...are making it impossible for me to control myself..."

As if to illustrate his point, Kakashi bent over the chuunin, gripped his thighs and started pounding into him so fast and hard the academy sensei was instantly up against the headboard. Iruka wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck and moaned in ecstasy.

"Oh God! Yes! Kakashi! Oh yes...haaa...haaa..."

Kakashi growled into Iruka's neck as he relentlessly fucked him, holding the chuunins hips completely still and pumping in and out of his quaking body.

"Kakashi..." Iruka whimpered, his nails digging into the jounins skin. "Didn't...mean to...make you...feel bad..."

Kakashi faltered, but only for a moment. Iruka's words seemed to turn him on on a completely different level.

He pulled out and spun the chuunin around so he was on his hands and knees. Iruka knew what was coming and sunk down to his elbows as Kakashi positioned himself behind him. Slowly he penetrated Iruka, and as he did, he gripped the chuunin's cock and slid his hand down his length in time with his entrance. Iruka gasped.

"Kakashi..."

The jounin angled Iruka's hips as high as they could go and took him quickly as he pumped his hardness. Iruka moaned loudly, every thrust sending sharp jolts of pleasure coursing through his body. He had wanted Kakashi so badly that every touch, every stroke was like fire. Iruka gripped the sheets and bit his lip to try to keep quiet, but it did nothing.

"Ahhh...Ah...Ah...AHH!" Iruka came shortly after, crying out and then sighing loudly as he sank down. Kakashi came with him, hissing the chuunins name, his head held back and his eyes closed.

Iruka went to turn over, but Kakashi held him by his sides. He bent down and kissed the chuunin's back softly.

The he flipped him over and gripped his chin, tilting his head up and pinning him with such an intense look Iruka recoiled slightly.

"Do you have any idea...everything about you is completely irresistible."

The chuunin stared, surprised. "Kakashi..."

The copy-nin kissed Iruka hard. Despite their intensely passionate love making session not a minute ago, Iruka felt himself getting excited again.

Kakashi took Iruka's thighs and dragged the chuunin against him. Iruka gave a little gasp, and lightly wrapped his legs around the jounin's waist.

"You didn't make me feel bad, Iruka. I did that." Kakashi murmured against the academy sensei's lips. "Everything about you makes me wild."

Iruka blushed furiously. "I..." he started. He swallowed. He couldn't say it. That was definitely only coming out of his mouth with the help of alcohol.

Kakashi noticed his embarrassment and kissed him lightly on the lips in response. "You didn't have a problem vocalizing yourself a minute ago..." he purred.

Iruka just blushed harder.

Kakashi grinned. "Can I guess?"

Iruka's jaw dropped.

"Ah..."

"Alright." Kakashi decided that meant yes. "I turn you on in ways you didn't think you'd ever experience."

Iruka gaped. Well...that was actually exactly what he wanted to say.

Kakashi scored himself a point mentally and continued.

"You crave me so badly when I'm not around that you can smell my skin in the air..."

He kissed the side of Iruka's head as his whole face turned red.

"What do you like best, Iruka? What gets you excited?"

Iruka thought his head was going to explode.

"K-kakashi...I..."

"I know..." Kakashi kissed Iruka's neck. "You always want me to go harder. When I take you slowly, gently, it drives you insane –it's never enough. But, when I fuck the shit out of you you scream my name and leave nail marks down my back."

Iruka was so unfathomably turned on he could barely see straight.

He most definitely could not speak.

Kakashi kissed down Iruka's neck, softly, stopping at his collar bone.

"Is that how you work? You're so good natured, so gentle and caring...that you want someone to rough you up once in a while? Too much softness?"

Kakashi looked back up, into Iruka's eyes. The chuunin's were glazed over; shocked, embarrassed and excited.

Kakashi rocked his hips against Irukas. They sucked in a sharp breath –both of them were hard.

"What do you want, Iruka?"

The chuunin swallowed thickly. He licked his lips.

"I..." He faltered. Kakashi pressed their erections together again.

"Haa...Kakashi...I want you. Fuck me..." Iruka whimpered.

Kakashi leaned in. He whispered, harshly, in the chuunin's ear.

"How?"

Iruka breathed in.

"Hard."

Kakashi gave him what he wanted.

Iruka screamed the whole time.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When they finally found the energy to leave the house (it had taken a while), they made their way quietly to the memorial stone. Iruka was exhausted once again, except this time his body felt like it wanted to go into a happy coma of satisfied bliss instead of an overworked nap bonanza.

Kakashi stood, silent, before the stone. He seemed completely lost in himself as he usually did. He held Iruka's hand loosely, as he did before. This time, though, he didn't seem like he needed contact from Iruka as badly. It was like he was having a casual conversation with an old friend who hadn't had an update of his life in a while.

Iruka supposed Kakashi hadn't come back since the last time they had gone together. He wondered what that felt like to the jounin. He wondered what the longest time he'd been away from it was. He supposed the copy-nin had had some pretty lengthy missions in the past.

To Iruka's complete surprise, after only 20 minutes Kakashi seemed to relax his stance and turned to Iruka with a smile.

"Let's get some lunch; I'm starving."

Iruka only hesitated for a second.

"I'll buy us some ramen." He offered, his insides tingling with delight at the obvious change in Kakashi's need to visit the stone. Kakashi had to give himself credit; he developed quite fast when the opportunity presented itself. He had gone from needing to visit every morning for hours to a mere twenty minutes after over a week of absence.

Perhaps...the reason for his visits had been loneliness. Kakashi insisted on making no other bonds, so his only true friends had been dead ones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They ate together at Ichiraku's companionably with the Ramen vendor as extra conversation. Iruka found that he liked sharing Kakashi's company with other people, especially when the copy-nin also appeared to be enjoying himself. The jounin was in an almost bubbly good mood and didn't even appear to be putting as much effort into inhaling his food before anyone could see him without his mask. Considering how easily Kakashi had displayed himself in front of Iruka, the chuunin wondered how much of Kakashi's "intense secrecy" was really just a front he kept up for his own amusement.

Actually...there were a lot of things Iruka was beginning to suspect Kakashi kept up for his own amusement.

Like that dirty novel he supposedly read constantly.

Iruka had literally not seen it ONCE since the first day they had begun their mission, almost three weeks ago now. If he was so addicted to it, where was it?

He felt Kakashi nudge him lightly with his thigh.

"Maaa...Iruka. You finished a while ago. Shall we?"

They said goodbye to their lunch time companion and began their amiable walk through the streets of Konoha.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

They froze.

Was that Gai?

They both turned at the same time. Gai was standing, legs spread apart, one hand supporting an accusing finger pointed directly at Kakashi, the other hand poised sassily on his jutted hip.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL! HOW DARE YOU- Oh, Iruka-sensei!" Gai seemed to be surprised at Iruka's presence next to the target of his apparent rage.

"Well, I didn't expect Kakashi to be keeping company. EXCELLENT!" He switched into another pose fluidly. "FINALLY, KAKASHI IS MAKING NEW FRIENDS!"

Iruka just beamed, suddenly getting a brilliant idea he fully intended to act on.

"Gai-sensei, if you're free tonight, why don't you and Kakashi-san come by my apartment? I'll make dinner, and we can have some sake as desert."

Kakashi whipped his head around and blatantly stared at Iruka, his one eye aghast.

Gai paused for a moment.

A tiny man-tear glistened in the corner of his right eye.

"Iruka-sensei..." He looked down, his fist clenched at his side. He slowly raised it to just above his chin, his forearm shaking with intensity. Iruka could easily guess what was coming.

"I WOULD BE MOST HONORED TO ATTEND!" His arm shot up, and fireworks erupted all around him.

"My eternal rival and I have had so little time to spend together! IRUKA-SENSEI, YOU ARE A MERGER OF WORLDS!"

A wave crashed against a rock. Birds flew into the air. Iruka could not understand how Gai made these things happen, but he was starting to learn to just go with it.

He tentatively darted his eyes to the side to look at Kakashi.

To his surprise, the jounin was smiling softly at him.

"Are...you free tonight, Kakashi?" Was Iruka's coded way of asking the copy-nin if he was okay with the arrangement.

His smile didn't falter. "I should be."

Gai had stood around for another five minutes or so, letting Kakashi know that he had kindly decided to drop their next challenge in the face of dinner plans with the Adorable Iruka –Sensei. He added a pose or two in between.

"Do not worry about the sake! I shall bring a most flavourful brand! How does 6 o'clock sound?"

"That's perfect, Gai-sensei."

"THEN!" He lifted his leg up. "I am off! See you at dinner, my most brilliantly dazzling companions!"

With that, Gai blasted off down the street, sending a random woman stumbling into a cart full of watermelons.

Iruka was smiling so hard his face was actually starting to hurt. Tonight was going to be SO entertaining, he was thoroughly excited.

"Well." Kakashi began, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to regard the chuunin lazily. "I suppose I should be on my way. I have some errands to run, and now I have to mentally prepare myself for dinner."

Iruka grinned. "You're going to have a great time, Kakashi. And you're going to admit it, too."

Kakashi leaned in slightly. His lazy eye was in full affect, but Iruka could feel something emanating from him that he couldn't place.

"How did you know I secretly enjoyed my uniform getting soaked with random ocean spray?"

Iruka smiled broadly. "You can't hide anything from me; I'm a professional, remember?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled slightly. "Right. Acting goes nowhere with you, does it?"

"Nope." Iruka answered confidently. "I had one of my kids try that on me, actually. For some reason he didn't want me to know he enjoyed taijutsu training. He was afraid I would push him harder if I knew the basics were effortless for him. He would complain every taijutsu class that it was a waste of time. So...I decided to grant him his wish, and I made him sit inside by himself for a couple of sessions while the rest of the class practiced. Predictably, the next time we had class he begged me to let him participate. I argued with him until he admitted that he actually really liked taijutsu. So, I made him practice with another student who was excellent and gave them more advanced moves to work through. He just told me on Friday how ashamed he was of his behaviour and that pushing himself and making mistakes, but improving all the while, was much better then constantly being afraid and holding himself back."

Iruka smiled at Kakashi. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Kakashi stared at him, expressionless.

"So... you're saying I'm afraid of Gai?"

Iruka levelled him with an expression that left no room for joking.

"Gai and everyone else, yes."

Kakashi stared right back, his expression unreadable with his half lidded gaze.

"But you made him sit out of practice; when do I get to be isolated?"

"You've been doing that to yourself for years."

"...You're story is still flawed."

"It rings true though, doesn't it?"

"I would never complain about training. You're comparing me to a lazy no talent."

"He is very talented, he's just afraid."

"Afraid of improving? I am offended."

"Being afraid of one thing is the same as another; he's afraid of making mistakes, just like you are."

"That is not what I'm afraid of."

Iruka grinned. Gotcha.

Kakashi winced.

"So...what ARE you afraid of?"

"Gai's teeth blind me."

"Kakashi..."

"Maaa...I have to get ready for dinner."

"Kakashi, i'ts 2 o'clock!"

"Yes, and I am so very bad with time." He winked and cast his hand signs. "See you soon."

He disappeared with a poof.

Iruka grinned, gloatingly, at the spot Kakashi had occupied.

Whatever, he won.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

*batts eyelashes* Teehee...

Up next; DINNER WITH THE NINJA!

Three exams down...two more to go. SO FRIGGEN EXCITED TO BE DONE!

And then, depending on my summer job, I'll probably have time to write more :D I can even have more than one story going at once! OMG IMAGINE.


	19. Chapter 19

Oooooooooooooooooo

Throughout the dinner making process, Iruka was surprised (and gratified) that he didn't explode with giddiness. He was so ridiculously excited about his plans for the night that he was smacking into things he had no right not being able to avoid. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had more than one other guest in his house. Actually, Kakashi had really been the only person he'd cooked for other than Naruto.

Geeze. He needed to work on being more social...

He felt a presence appear outside of his door and a moment later there was a light knock. Iruka blinked in mild confusion and answered.

Kakashi stood on the other end, hands in his pockets, lazy slouch in place. He popped one of his hands out and cocked his wrist to the side in a lazy salute.

"Yo."

Iruka smiled. "Kakashi, you used the door! I don't know what to think."

"_Boo."_

Iruka jumped a mile as Kakashi, another Kakashi, whispered into his ear from behind him. He whipped his head back and forth, both Kakashi's smiling happily.

"DAMNIT!"

"Come on, Iruka. You're really getting rusty."

Iruka scowled in frustration and whipped his wooden stirring spoon at the head of the Kakashi in front of him. He'd guessed right; the spoon smacked the clone clean between the eyes and he disappeared with a poof.

Iruka calmly turned to the real Kakashi. "Felt the need to get a little revenge, did you?"

Kakashi just smiled his cheerful eye smile. "Whatever do you mean?"

Iruka just gave him a knowing look and tried to look serious as he pushed past him, but a smile was tugging at his lips. He had to admit; he'd gotten him good.

"We're having fish tonight, is that okay?" Iruka called over his shoulder, only to realize that Kakashi was no longer behind him.

"Kaka-"

He smacked into something soft, but hard. He sighed. "OKAY, Kakashi. You got me." He looked up into the smiling face of his sneaky jounin; he had lowered his mask at some point.

"Oh...I'm not done yet." Kakashi replied, a husky, promising tinge to his voice.

Iruka felt a little shiver slither up his spine.

"What's this...? Why so mischievous? Did I really irk you that badly?"

Kakashi snorted.

"No idea what you're talking about."

Iruka grinned up at him. "Sure. You're not bitter at all-EEEKK!"

Iruka squeaked and whipped around. A shadow clone had just smacked him in the ass so hard he felt it in his teeth.

"KAKASHI!"

The copy-nin blinked down at him innocently. "What? Oh! Him. I forgot I made him."

Kakashi was just coming at him, nonstop, from all angles. Iruka could sense the predatory mischievousness emanating from his seemingly unknowing countenance.

He almost felt scared. Almost; Kakashi was far too gentle to hurt him.

"Alright, Kakashi. Please. I have to finish making dinner."

He grinned wolfishly. "So...you surrender?"

Iruka blinked.

"Umm...are we at war?"

He felt the clone come up behind him. The warm body pressed against his back, and Kakashi took a step forward in front of him so that he was sandwiched between the two copy-nins.

"You are my prisoner."

Iruka laughed and swatted at him. "Well, if you keep 'detaining' me you're going to starve tonight. It's in both our best interests if you let me go."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"Negotiations will get you nowhere."

Iruka decided to humour him.

"Alright, Kakashi. What are your terms?"

The silver haired shinobi did not hesitate.

"You will surrender control of this evening to _me_."

Iruka cocked an eyebrow. "You know you are always free to do what you want, Kakashi."

Kakashi's stoic facade did not falter.

"No, not in this situation. You want me to be social and are planning on noosing me to that table until my brain explodes from Gai Exposure."

Iruka chuckled. "Okay, YES, I would like you to be social. I also don't want to make you uncomfortable, though. You and Gai are close friends though, right? There shouldn't be any issues."

Kakashi's eye widened dramatically. "You don't understand...the _horror._"

Iruka laughed brightly. "Kakashi! Come on. I happen to know that Gai puts on as much of an act as you do. I've seen him when he's serious and he's very intelligent and well spoken."

Kakashi seemed to deflate slightly. "Act? I don't put on an act..."

Iruka levelled him with a pointed look.

Kakashi blinked at him innocently.

"Maaa...Iruka. He's only serious in serious situations. This is not a serious situation. You have no idea what we're in for."

Iruka felt breath ghost on his neck.

"Control...me...have..." the clone whispered into his ear.

Iruka continued to stare straight ahead at Kakashi. He was calling upon all of his self control not to erupt into mass flushage from the pleasantly dirty thoughts his mind kept leaning towards as he was intimately accosted by not one, but TWO Kakashi's. Two. Two of him.

He shuddered slightly. "You can do what you like, Kakashi."

Iruka noticed a twitch at the corner of the infamous nin's mouth. His eyes seemed to soften and fill with warmth and knowing. It wasn't an innocent warmth, though. It smouldered. He seemed to guess what was going on internally with his chuunin lover.

With his eyes firmly locked on Iruka's, the copy-nin bent down and kissed the shorter man ever so lightly on his lips, his clone simultaneously dipping his head to press a soft kiss to his neck. The academy sensei felt a burning hot bolt of heat flash in his stomach and sear a trail right down to his groin.

Holy.

Two.

Kakashi's.

NO! Damnit, he literally had 40 minutes to finish dinner and get everything ready before Gai got there; and he had no doubt in his mind that Gai would be incredibly punctual.

"K-K-Kakashi." He stammered then blushed furiously at his obvious arousal. He saw the jounin's eyebrows flick up in response. "Wait, I have to finish making dinner. You don't have to stick around and talk if you don't want to, alright? You can sit there stone silent if you like, but please, let me go back to the kitchen."

Kakashi regarded him with a detached gaze that completely contradicted the swirling lust that had filled his eye. He flicked his tongue lightly over Iruka's lips.

"That's fine. We can continue this later." He said simply, and dispelled his clone with a lazy motion of his wrist.

Oh God. Was he serious? Continue THIS? As in...like really?

Iruka couldn't physically handle that train of thought. He turned a ferocious shade of red, ducked his head, murmured something unintelligible and shuffled back to the stove.

Kakashi watched him go with predatory silence.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka was adding the last touches to his finely crafted meal when he heard a loud, confident knock at the door. He grinned to himself; it was go time.

"Kakashi, could you get the door please?"

Kakashi sighed and hopped off the kitchen stool he'd perched himself on. His lazy demeanour was in full affect and he practically crawled towards the door. He whipped it open dispassionately.

Then he blinked.

"Maa...no one's there."

Iruka craned his neck back to see, his eyebrows raised. "Huh? Really?"

"-**DYNAMIC!"**

They both whipped around.

Gai was sailing through the hallway, his legs spread completely apart, arms flowing behind him like a flag in the breeze. He landed on the ground in a crouch, his torso completely folded over his legs like a rag doll.

He sprang up, into the air, fist pumped. A searing white light erupted behind him. Streamers flew in from all sides. Confetti rained all around him.

"**ENTRRYYYYYYY!"**

Everything settled. Gai stood there, fist in the air, hip jutted out, legs spread wide.

Iruka and Kakashi stared.

Gai panted.

"...Uhh...Welcome, Gai-sensei..." Iruka greeted in a small, astounded voice.

"Iruka-sensei!" Gai leaped forward, presenting his gift to the stunned chuunin. "I come into your humble home with much thanks and GIFTS OF ALCOHOLIC DELIGHTS!"

Kakashi shut the front door.

Iruka took the bottle from Gai with a shaky smile. "Ah...thank you, Gai-sensei. Umm. If you wouldn't mind sweeping up the confetti while I set the table...?"

Gai took a quick peek behind his shoulder. "YES! Yes, of course. I apologize; I get a little carried away sometimes."

Silence greeted him.

Nooooo shit.

In a few minutes, the floor had been ridden of colourful scraps of paper and the table had been effectively set. Gai had taken to talking to Kakashi about rivalry related business and Iruka happily buzzed about the kitchen. He served the two elite shinobi with barely contained delight, then settled comfortably into his own seat and filled his plate.

When everyone had their food, Iruka clapped his hands together and regarded the two other men warmly. "Thank you both for coming! I hope you enjoy dinner."

Gai positively beamed at him, his pearly white teeth gleaming impossibly bright in the limited, diminishing daylight. "HA HA! Iruka-sensei, it is you who I thank! This food smells delicious and I am honoured to be invited into your home."

With that, he took a big scoop of fish and rice and popped it into his mouth with his chopsticks. He chewed. He swallowed. His eyes watered.

"Iruka-sensei...this is..."

He whipped back, then craned around again. "SPECTACULAR!" he exclaimed, holding his plate aloft as if it was a gift for the gods.

Kakashi sighed.

Iruka laughed pleasantly. "I'm...certainly glad that you like it, Gai-sensei."

Gai responded by shovelling copious amounts of food into his mouth at a speed that could not be human. Iruka watched, wide eyed, then glanced over at Kakashi.

The jounin was levelling him with a pointed "I told you so" stare.

Iruka decided to ignore it and trained his attention back to the bowl-cut shinobi.

"Ah...so, Gai-sensei. I really don't know much about you; what have you been up to lately?"

Gai positively BEAMED.

"Thank you for asking! I have been working on..." he shot Kakashi an arrogant grin. "...A NEW JUTSU!"

Kakashi actually looked interested.

"Oh. Really?"

"YES MY ETERNAL RIVAL! IT WILL MAKE YOUR CHIDORI LOOK LIKE A LITTLE SPARK IN COMPARISON!"

Now Kakashi just looked incredulous.

"Uh huh."

"HA HA HA! I did not expect you to believe me or to react, my hip and cool wanton friend. You'll see when it is finished!"

Something struck Iruka, and he hazarded an entry into their conversation.

"Gai, I thought you didn't use jutsu?" He asked tentatively.

Kakashi snorted.

"AH! No, I do not, Adorable Sensei. This is something different! I will only use..." he paused for dramatic effect. His eyes bounced between his two dinner companions. "MY FEET!"

Iruka's jaw dropped slightly. "Wh...whaa?"

Kakashi pointedly did not react.

"YES! I know, it sounds impossible! BUT I WILL DO IT OR I SHALL NEVER PRACTICE TAIJUTSU AGAIN!"

"But...Gai-sensei. How will you form the hand signs?"

"Why, with my TOES dear Iruka-sensei!"

"Oh..."

Iruka wanted to laugh but figured it was rude. Gai seemed quite determined and the jounin had come incredibly far in his life on determination alone. "Well, I wish you the best of luck, Gai-sensei."

Gai teared a little. "THANK YOU! How nice to have SUPPORT once in a while instead of cool detachment!" he shot a look towards Kakashi. "RIGHT, rival?"

Kakashi blinked up from his food and looked at Gai in confusion. "Oh...did you say something?"

Gai's entire countenance deflated. He looked slightly destroyed.

"UGH HOW DO YOU DO THAT ALL THE TIIIIMMMEEEEEEE!?" He grasped his head in agony and shot up from his chair, wallowing in defeat.

Iruka's jaw was hanging open so far he was amazed he hadn't drooled when he finally snapped it closed. These two...they were almost IDENTICAL to Naruto and Sasuke. The most amazing part is that Gai was like Naruto and Kakashi like Sasuke. It seemed almost ludicrous to compare Kakashi to Sasuke considering how both of them had turned out, but seeing him and Gai interact with each other, the parallel was unmistakable.

It seemed that Gai was always searching for Kakashi's approval, as Naruto had done with his Uchiha friend. Kakashi, like Sasuke, was always hard in handing it out.

And, like stoic young boy, despite his cool exterior Kakashi obviously respected Gai. People like Kakashi did not keep others in their lives for as long as he had with the taijutsu master if he didn't care about them.

It made Iruka wonder to himself what it was about people that made them form this kind of relationship. It was obviously mostly from Gai's side...so maybe, like Naruto, it stemmed from insecurity. The ONLY thing Iruka really knew about Gai was that he hadn't been a very talented young genin, but had worked his way to the top ferociously through sheer willpower.

"Iruka?"

The chuunin snapped out of his musings to find both Kakashi and Gai staring at him. He flushed brilliantly when he realized how hard he must have zoned out.

"AH! I'm so sorry. It's just...well. You two make quite the pair, haha." Iruka admitted, rubbing the scar on his nose in embarrassment.

Gai positively beamed.

"WE ARE ETERNAL STAR-CROSSED RIVALS!" A shooting star flew behind him.

Kakashi just stared lazily.

Iruka still could not get over it, especially when Gai was so exuberant and Kakashi so statuesque. How they had ended up as friends, Iruka would have loved to know.

The chuunin realized with a start that everyone's plates were empty. He deemed this an appropriate time to change the subject, as it seemed Kakashi wasn't enjoying it as much as he was.

"Gai-sensei, if you don't mind grabbing the sake I'll clear the table and we can have some drinks."

Gai agreed amiably and stood quickly. Iruka started to pile plates together and Kakashi rose to help. Iruka smiled at him and placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"Just relax, Kakashi. You're my guest."

Kakashi settled and smiled affectionately at Iruka. Iruka blushed faintly, let his hand linger for a moment, then removed it and took up his pile of plates.

As he turned to walk to the kitchen, he noticed Gai staring at them.

He was sporting a very cheeky grin.

Iruka absolutely burst into a radiant red hue and hurried into the kitchen. Holy crap, it was so easy to forget how incredibly intelligent Gai was since he was such a lunatic.

He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw an interesting wordless interaction going on between the thick browed sensei and the copy-nin. Gai kept levelling him with a knowing smirk and Kakashi seemed to be debunking his grin with as stoic a face as he could possibly assemble.

Iruka decided to take a little longer in the kitchen then was necessary.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Once the sake was busted out, things got even more interesting. Iruka managed to turn the conversation to the current events in Konoha and found Gai to be excellent verbal company. He was definitely intelligent and paid very close attention to everything, as would be expected from a shinobi of his level. They talked about the current status of the attempted boycott and what was going on with the remaining mercenaries. Neji had continued to scout for another week and found that there were so few of them left that it was deemed a closed case. He said they were so scared after a single Konoha jounin had eradicated 90% of their remaining forces that they refused to even speak to each other. Iruka beamed at Kakashi with pride and the jounin actually blushed and looked away.

Iruka ignored another knowing grin from Gai.

The conversation took a turn towards the last time the three of them had drunk together and the dining room filled with laughter.

"She did WHAT?" Iruka sputtered, trying hard not to choke on his sake.

"Yes...Anko is quite the lady when she's exuberantly intoxicated." Gai sighed, twirling his little sake cup between his fingers. "Thankfully she also has little shame when sober. She approached me the next day and apologized for 'manhandling my Gai-bits', then walked away."

Iruka gaped. He could NOT picture Anko groping Gai. Not at all.

Kakashi did not seem surprised.

"At least she didn't steal any children this time."

Iruka whipped his head around in disbelief. Gai just roared with laughter.

"OH! Right! Well...I wouldn't exactly say she didn't. She seemed determined to leave her house again once I'd planted her firmly in her living room."

"Seems this time she was more interested in making children of her own." Kakashi tossed in with a hint of a mischievous grin.

Gai actually flushed mightily. Iruka laughed loudly at his facial expression. The taijutsu master coughed elegantly into his hand. "WELL...I don't know about that. Anko is a valuable member of this community. However...I am not entirely certain she should be reproducing."

Iruka spit out his sake and burst out laughing. Wow, BURN!

He didn't know if it was the alcohol, but he thought Gai was hilarious.

The two jounin laughed lightly with Iruka, more entertained at the chuunin then Gai's words.

The black haired jounin suddenly seemed to get an idea. Iruka was oblivious but Kakashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Speaking of reproducing...what are your plans along those lines, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka stopped laughing and wiped a tear from his eye. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself from his alcohol induced laughing fit.

"Umm, well, I'm not entirely sure Gai-sensei. I already have quite a few children to look after." He responded softly, blushing faintly. "I always wanted to adopt, though. I know what it's like to be an orphan and I would love to spare a child that kind of loneliness."

Gai and Kakashi both stared at Iruka with serious, but soft expressions. Iruka continued to blush.

"That is very big of you, Iruka-sensei." Gai responded.

The chuunin shrugged. "Well, I don't really see it that way. I've already unofficially adopted Naruto as my brother, at least in my heart. That is where my soul seems to lie, with other's who need me the most. I don't really need to look into my child's face and see my eyes or my nose. I would rather see them happy and hopeful."

A serious silence seemed to fall on the table, which Iruka wanted to pin on someone else other then himself, as he was certain he was already burning brighter then the sun.

"What about you, Gai-sensei?"

Gai fluidly transformed into a "thinking pose". He looked very serious. Then, he leaped up from the table and sent his chair flying. Iruka's heart nearly burst out of his chest, it was so unexpected. Even Kakashi's eye widened.

"I WOULD LIKE A LITTLE VERSION OF ME TO MOLD INTO A GREAT MAN OR WOMAN!"

Another shooting star whizzed by.

Iruka laughed loudly. This was not a good time for Gai's antics, as Iruka had definitely had 'enough' sake.

"How do you DO that? Where do all these...THINGS come from?" Iruka gestured wildly in a wide arc to imitate the cosmic scene that had just played out before him.

Gai shot Iruka a dazzling, toothy grin. "That...Iruka-sensei, is my ULTIMATE SECRET!"

Kakashi snorted.

Gai shot him a scathing look.

"Oh, come on, Gai! I would like to know how to make doves fly whenever I enter a room." Iruka asked excitedly, dropping Gai's title in his intoxicated joy. He was leaning forward eagerly.

Gai laughed. "Alright, Iruka-sensei...I will teach you...THE HIP JUTT!"

Iruka beamed. Holy, was there ACTUALLY a way to do it? He stood quickly. "Okay!"

Kakashi was smiling at him brightly.

The academy sensei ran over to Gai, who had stood away from the table and was posing seriously. Iruka stood next to him and did a horrible job containing his excitement.

Gai turned to him, his expression still serious. "Iruka. You must put your entire soul into this! Otherwise...NOTHING will happen! Do you understand?"

Iruka snapped to bootcamp like attention and nodded curtly. "Yes!"

"Alright..." Gai answered gravely. He turned his attention forward. "Now...start off like this." He stood in a fairly relaxed fashion, and Iruka followed suit.

"Ok. This is the most important part. Call upon all the beauty and grace within your heart. Let it shine through you like delicate rain on a clear window in the summer!"

Iruka blinked and tried to understand how the hell he was supposed to do that. He wouldn't exactly describe himself as graceful. He spared a glance at Kakashi and found the jounin barely containing laughter.

"THEN! Once you have called upon your dazzling inner self...you must RELEASE HIM! LIKE SOOOOO!" And then, Gai popped into a pose, jutting his hip out so far it was amazing it wasn't dislocated.

Doves erupted from behind him and flew in all directions. Iruka stared in disbelief.

Holy crap...it actually worked.

Gai whipped around and levelled Iruka with a powerful stare. "NOW! YOU!"

Iruka fumbled for a moment. How the hell was he supposed to...ah, well, it was too late now. He'd have to try.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus on his 'dazzling inner self'. Beautiful grace was not working...he needed to think of something else. His head swam in his tipsiness and all he could think of was warmth. It was what he had and it was what he always gave to people. So, he concentrated his 'warmth' as hard as he could, and then, completely ignoring the fact that Kakashi was probably watching him and this was definitely going to be humiliating, he struck the pose as best he could and popped his hip out with the intention of "releasing".

With utter astonishment, he heard the flapping of a couple of pairs of wings. He chanced a glance behind him and noticed two doves flying away.

He stood in sheer amazement.

HE DID IT!

"WOW!" Iruka exclaimed, his eyes wide and awe struck. He felt like a little kid again.

Tears flowed down Gai's cheeks in steady streams.

"IRUKA-SENSEI! YOU ARE THE BEST STUDENT I HAVE EVER HAD!" He leaped forward and grasped both of Iruka's hands in his own. "YOU ARE THE EPITOME OF HARD WORK! THE PINNICALE OF CONCENTRATION!"

Iruka was so drunkenly excited he didn't even care that his hands were being crushed. "How the heck did I do that?"

"G-guys...please...stop..."

Iruka and Gai both glanced at Kakashi.

He was literally rolling on the table, little tears glistening at the corner of his eyes. Yes, eyes...he had taken off his forehead protector and his sharingan was exposed. He was clutching at his sides so tightly Iruka wouldn't be surprised if he hurt himself.

"I...ca...cant...breathe..." He panted in between near hysterical laughter.

Iruka ran to Kakashi in concern and tried to calm him, Gai continued to cry tears of joy and by the time Kakashi stopped laughing enough to breathe properly the poor jounin was actually turning a little blue. Iruka had begun to panic that his lover was ACTUALLY going to die of laughter.

When everyone was effectively settled, Kakashi deemed that dinner was over because his psyche had had as much as it could handle. Iruka was a little sad because he was thoroughly enjoying Gai's company, but he had promised Kakashi earlier that the night could go by on his terms.

Kakashi and Gai clasped hands amiably and Gai promised Kakashi he would annihilate him with his new jutsu. Kakashi looked bored and replied that the day Gai annihilated Kakashi in any way would be the day the entire earth was engulfed in hells cold fury so it wouldn't matter anyway.

Iruka steered Gai away from Kakashi with genuine laughter and guided the green clad jounin to the door. Gai turned to face Iruka and smiled down at him so affectionately Iruka actually flushed.

"Thank you for inviting me, Iruka-sensei. Your dinner was marvellous and I rarely have an opportunity at such wonderful company."

Iruka's face shone with happiness. Gai was actually an incredibly impressive individual when he was being serious and not a flaming psycho.

"It was my pleasure, Gai-sensei. You are always welcome here. I'll really have to organize this again soon. Actually, we can make it a regular thing! Why not? I don't have people over nearly as much as I should, and I think we could all use a little more company."

The dark haired jounin gazed down at Iruka with an uncharacteristically soft, intent expression. He smiled lightly, but his eyes were swallowing the chuunin up in a way Iruka never would have guessed Gai could be capable of.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Iruka." He paused and his eyes flickered up, as if to check and see if anyone was behind the academy sensei. He seemed to be satisfied and he leaned down slowly so he was whispering into Iruka's space, just an inch away from being intimately close.

"I thank you for what you are obviously doing for Kakashi. He needs someone like you very badly, Iruka. He is an unbelievably stubborn person, so you have your work cut out for you. But...I can already see that you have won."

Iruka's jaw dropped and despite himself, he felt his nerves tingle slightly at Gai's proximity and the incredible intensity that was vibrating from his body. Iruka had no idea Gai was THAT perceptive. It was also amazing how well he knew Kakashi, and obviously cared about him. It warmed his heart and made him almost giddy happy. He really, really wanted his lover to have people who cared about him.

"Gai...ah...well, it is my pleasure, really..." Iruka had no idea how to respond, though. Denying it would have been completely futile as the bowl-cut shinobi obviously approved of their relationship. He was even flattered that someone so close to Kakashi and of such high ranking thought he suited the copy-nin. Iruka still found himself wondering why the silver haired jounin bothered with him.

"Yes, Iruka, I can definitely see that." Gai answered with a cheeky grin.

Iruka turned completely red.

"W-well, I guess I'll see you soon!" He concluded as smoothly as he could, although his normally open book expressions were magnified by his copious intake of delicious sake. He was obviously thoroughly embarrassed.

Gai leaned in JUST a fraction closer. "I can definitely see why Kakashi likes you so much" He purred.

Iruka's head almost exploded. He just openly gawked at the much larger jounin until Gai laughed lightly and stepped outside of the apartment.

"Goodnight!" he proclaimed with a wink then shut the door without further ado.

Iruka just stood there for almost a full minute after Gai had left. He was trying to figure out if that ACTUALLY just happened.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted, suddenly by Iruka's side. The chuunins brain was so thoroughly frazzled that he didn't even react. He just turned his stunned face to look at his lovers and Kakashi barked out a laugh.

"I see Gai has gotten to you."

"Uh...yah...he is..." Iruka tried to think of a word to describe Gai. He shook his head. "Indescribable."

Kakashi grinned. "That is a very good way of describing him, actually. Few people really get a chance to know Gai. He's layered like no one else I've met."

"No kidding." Iruka breathed.

Kakashi laughed again and wrapped an arm lightly around the academy sensei's shoulders. "Come on, Iruka. It's past midnight; let's go to bed."

Iruka nodded mutely and walked with Kakashi until he stopped dead in his tracks at the site of the kitchen. "Oh! Wait, Kakashi, I have to do the dishes."

Kakashi nudged him forward. "Forget them for tonight, Iruka. You've done enough."

"But-" Iruka tried to protest and found his lips captured softly. The chuunin's body erupted with heat. He sighed into the kiss, pressing his body against Kakashi's instinctively. He felt Kakashi smile against his lips. He had no idea why he was so horny...damn sake.

"Well, that wasn't hard." The jounin whispered, breaking their kiss softly. He glanced down, his eyelids heavy.

Iruka moaned loudly as Kakashi cupped his growing erection through his pants.

"_You_ sure are, though." The copy-nin purred lightly.

Iruka's liquid courage flared up. He threw his arms around Kakashi's neck and jumped up effortlessly, wrapping his legs around Kakashi's waist and grinding their hips together. He felt hot all over. He suddenly wanted the copy-nin so badly he could barely think.

"Kakashi..." he whimpered. "Touch me more, please..." he breathed onto the jounin's lips, his eyes bathed in lust.

Kakashi took a moment to be pleasantly surprised before he growled loudly and kissed the chuunin hard. Iruka responded by devouring Kakashi's lips like he was starving for his taste. Their kiss was so deep and so heated the chuunin didn't notice when he'd been carried to the bedroom. Kakashi made to dump Iruka onto his back, but the academy sensei surprised the jounin again by twisting around and pushing the copy-nin down. The two of them fell into the bed with Iruka firmly seated in Kakashi's lap.

"Iruka..."

The chuunin kissed Kakashi again, moaning into his lips. He couldn't believe how badly he wanted the jounin. He felt like he was going to die if he didn't taste every inch of his body. If Kakashi didn't take him tonight he thought would lose his mind.

Iruka gripped Kakashi's vest and zipped it down violently, pulling it off Kakashi and giving the jounin seconds to move his arms along with him. His shirt followed the same path. Kakashi felt himself getting increasingly worked up with the hungry way Iruka was ridding him of his clothes. He had no idea how he was supposed to control himself when the chuunin was being so fucking delicious.

"Iruka, how much sake did you-Nnn..."

Iruka slid his hips down so he could worship Kakashi's neck, earning a growl from the silver haired jounin as their erections rubbed together. Iruka kissed under Kakashi's jaw and down his throat. He dipped his tongue into the hollow of the jounin's neck where it met his clavicle. The taste of Kakashi's soft skin was so intoxicating he could only think of how badly he wanted it. Everything about the jounin was driving him wild.

"Kakashi..." he moaned into his lovers shoulder as he bit down on his ANBU tattoo. "You're so beautiful."

Kakashi groaned in response and gripped Iruka's hair, pulling his head back up and capturing his lips in an opened mouthed kiss that was so searing both of them moaned against each other. Iruka pressed their groins together, steadied his arm against the headboard and dragged his pelvis forward and up. Kakashi broke their kiss to moan sharply.

"Oh fuck, Iruka...I am going to screw you so thoroughly you're not going to know your own name in the morning..."

Iruka kissed him again. "Me first..." he breathed. "I gave you control of dinner, now I want to have my way tonight."

Kakashi bit his bottom lip as Iruka crawled back down the jounin's body to lay his lips on his chest. He kissed absolutely every inch of skin he could see. He lightly flicked his tongue over the tip of Kakashi's nipples and felt the other's hips buck in response.

"Iruka...you're killing me..." The jounin hissed, but Iruka ignored him and continued to lay worshipping little kisses from his clavicle to his sides, his shoulders, his biceps. Everything about Kakashi was making him so hot he couldn't even see straight. Iruka ran his hands over the jounins sculpted torso as he kissed him, tracing the lines of his muscles lightly with his finger tips and his nails. The chuunin rocked his hips against the copy-nins and felt Kakashi's heat through his pants, felt his thighs quiver. Iruka could tell by the jounin's tensed muscles that he was fighting to control himself. The thought of Kakashi snapping on him and fucking the shit out of him made his head spin with arousal. His lover was powerful and he could feel it on every inch of his body; how thick and tight his muscles were, how strong and hot his cock felt, how no part of his body gave way even though Iruka was leaning all of his weight on him.

"Kakashi...I want you...you taste amazing and I want to feel you..." Iruka panted. He paused to trail the tip of his tongue from the jounins belly button down along his treasure trail as he pulled back the hem of his pants to reveal more and more skin. The chuunin yanked down hard on the fabric and Kakashi lifted his hips; in a moment, his pants were gone. Iruka wasted no time and kissed a soft line up the length of the jounins cock. He heard Kakashi groan with pleasure. He felt the jounins hands in his hair again. He sucked lightly on the tip of his penis, swirling his tongue around it, before dipping his head down and taking him into his mouth.

"_Iruka_...fuck..."

Iruka moaned against Kakashi's length and the jounin's head fell back. Tasting his lover was amazing, Kakashi's body was amazing; everything was amazing. He sucked and licked and pulled up and slid back down again, bobbing his head in a rhythm that had Kakashi gripping the sheets around him.

Iruka stopped abruptly and craned his head up. He didn't want Kakashi to come like this...he knew exactly what he wanted, but he had no idea where he put the-

He noticed it in Kakashi's hands. The jounin was looking at him with absolutely wild, barely contained hunger. Iruka reached up and snatched the bottle from his loose grip. "Wait, me first." He chided, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Wha..Nnn..." Kakashi moaned deep in his throat as Iruka lathered the jounin's hard cock in lube. The copy-nin controlled his breathing and stared in fascination as the chuunin lifted onto his knees, smeared lube on his finger and pressed the digit into himself easily.

Kakashi's jaw fell slightly at the sight. He let out a long, loud growl. Iruka actually jumped slightly and looked like he was uncertain of what to do.

"You'd better hurry, Iruka. Or I won't let you have your way."

Kakashi's voice was thick and husky. Iruka crawled into the jounin's lap, gazing at him as he moved. Kakashi grasped his own erection and positioned it beneath Iruka, staring hard and hungry right back at his lover. The academy sensei slid his arms around Kakashi's neck and balanced his weight against the jounin. Iruka lowered himself onto his lover and gasped in surprise as he was penetrated; it felt completely different then when he was lying on his back. He bit his lip and Kakashi shifted his hips and held Iruka's thigh with his free hand.

"Just go slowly." He whispered gently into the chuunins neck. Iruka blushed furiously and descended further. He felt Kakashi's thickness much more this way, the tip of his penis scraping against him as he slid down his shaft. Iruka plopped the rest of the way onto Kakashi's lap and gasped as he felt his cock jab against his prostate.

He heard Kakashi growl deep in his throat.

"Iruka..." he whispered, his voice husky. "You need to move before I do something drastic."

The chuunin was suddenly REALLY glad he was drunk. He felt completely exposed.

Iruka began rocking his hips forward, up, then back down onto Kakashi's cock. He gasped loudly at the amazing sensation building up so quickly in his pelvis. He leaned heavily against Kakashi's torso and dug his nails into his back as he pleasured himself on his lovers length, moaning and gasping and nipping at the jounin's skin.

Kakashi kissed and sucked on Iruka's neck as he ran his hands over his back. He loved Iruka in his lap, loved watching the dark little chuunin move against him, trembling and keening. But Kakashi couldn't give up control for long; he needed to be taking his sensei. He leaned back onto his elbows and began bucking his hips so he was thrusting in and out of the chuunin in time with Iruka's movements.

"AHHH! Oh...Oh, Kakashi..." Iruka moaned, leaning back and moving his arms behind him to rest on Kakashi's legs, his head tilting back as his eyes fluttered closed. Both of them panted heavily as they fucked each other, Iruka keening and gasping uncontrollably as he rolled his hips along with Kakashi's thrusts. He dug his nails into Kakashi's skin, and the jounin leaned forward licked a line up the academy sensei's exposed throat.

"Ka...Kakashi...Haaa...Oh, God...I...Haaa..."

"What is it, Iruka...?" Kakashi whispered into the chuunin's neck.

The chuunin leaned his forehead against Kakashi's. "You...you make me feel _so_ good. So...good...Haa!"

They kissed heatedly, their tongues sparring with each other, their thrusts becoming more erratic. Kakashi suddenly growled loudly against Iruka's mouth and stood in one quick movement, starling the chuunin. In a flurry, the academy sensei found himself thrown down against the mattress so quickly and roughly that the pillows were catapulted onto the floor. Iruka knew exactly what being on his back meant and he felt his body burn with anticipation.

"_Kakashi...!" _ he gasped, looking up at the jounin who was kneeling before him and boring into his soul with an expression that was positively predatory.

The jounin moved so fast Iruka didn't even see what happened, just felt himself penetrated quickly, felt Kakashi's cock drill into him and nail his prostate so hard his mind completely evaporated. He felt Kakashi pulling back, and the knowledge of the hard pleasure that was coming next made him moan loudly.

"YES...Oh yes..."

Kakashi slammed into him again, bending over the chuunin completely and rasping into his ear. "You are the _only_ person who has ever made me feel good. You satisfy me completely on every level I could ever dream of. You are fucking amazing, Iruka. I don't know how it's possible but you have everything. And you're so fucking delicious I go crazy when we're together."

He gripped Iruka's thighs and spread them apart as far as they could go, then thrust into him again, smacking his hips against Iruka's skin. "And you're so damn sweet I can't get enough of your smile."

He slammed again. "So damn tight..." Slam. "So warm..." Slam. "I could fuck you all night, Iruka. I want to. Maybe I will..."

He claimed Iruka fast and hard, pulling the chuunins hips in and out with his thrusts, panting thickly as he took him. Iruka was going wild, moaning and keening and whimpering. He gripped the sheets around him, he reached behind and held onto the bed frame desperately.

"OH KAKASHI...HAA HAAA...YES...AHHH..._KAKASHI..."_

"Would you like that, Iruka?" He panted. "I can take you like this over and over ...until... you can't feel anything anymore..."

Iruka was moments away from climax. He couldn't think at all. He barely registered what Kakashi said.

"KAKASHI..I...Haaaa...AHH!" Iruka screamed as he came, hard, the hardest he'd ever released. His body shuddered and he could hear or see nothing. He felt Kakashi erupt inside of him, but he couldn't hear him finish. Iruka felt Kakashi's soft, sweat covered body settle over his own and his arms came up to wrap around the jounin instinctively.

They lay against each other, panting heavily, their bodies slowly winding down. Iruka's head cleared and he couldn't help but turn red. He never would have imagined himself having such...well. Wonderful sex. He couldn't believe the things he said to Kakashi, and when he remembered them after, he couldn't believe the things Kakashi said to him.

Wait...Kakashi had just admitted he made the copy-nin happy. Iruka's heart warmed and his stomach tightened. He turned his head and shifted slightly so he could press a chaste kiss to Kakashi's cheek. The jounin glanced at him.

"Kakashi...I'm glad. I...want to make you feel good. I want you to be happy."Iruka whispered, coloring faintly. He caressed Kakashi's jaw lightly with the back of his hand.

The jounin caught his wrist lightly and kissed his knuckles. He dragged Iruka's body to the side slightly so the chuunin was lying directly beneath him. Kakashi looked down at him, his expression unreadable but strong. Iruka held it with his own, hoping his feelings shone through.

"You want me to be happy?" Kakashi asked quietly, and Iruka nodded.

Kakashi dipped his head down. "Then don't leave me..." he whispered harshly before capturing Iruka's lips in a long, slow, deep kiss. Iruka responded instantly, although he was confused by the other man's words. Kakashi's kiss was scalding and emotional and soft, and Iruka found himself moaning faintly against his lips.

The first moment Kakashi broke the kiss, Iruka spoke up. "Kakashi, I'm not going t-" His lips were claimed again, and he was silenced. The chuunin sighed into the kiss, melting into the mattress and into the copy-nin's embrace. He felt so warm, so protected and so satisfied he could have laid there and kissed Kakashi forever.

They parted for air again, and Iruka tried to still the silver haired shinobi so he could talk to him. "Kakashi, you're not really worried that-"

He felt Kakashi press his fingers against his entrance and he yelped. "K-Kakashi..."

"I want you." The jounin growled. "I wasn't kidding. I could have you all night, Iruka. All night, until your voice cracks, until you pass out."

Iruka's mind blanked again, but he heard himself moan. "Oh..."

The jounins fingers slid into him and he arched his back.

"_Iruka._.." Kakashi growled, biting down on the chuunins earlobe.

"Yes...Yes, Kakashi..." Iruka panted, digging his fingers into Kakashi's wild hair. "Have me...have me as much as you want, I'm yours."

Iruka felt Kakashi's finger leave him, then return wet and slick with lubricant. He couldn't see anything, Kakashi's body blocked him, but he felt everything. He felt Kakashi tease him gently with his fingers and he bucked and moaned. Kakashi kissed his cheek, kissed his lips.

"Don't leave me..." he whispered into the chuunins skin.

Iruka was starting to understand what Kakashi meant. He felt his heart tear painfully for his jounin. He couldn't say anything...it was something he had no control of, and Kakashi knew it.

Iruka let out a strangled moan as Kakashi pushed hard on his sweet spot. He bit down onto the copy-nins shoulder. "I don't want to leave you...Kakashi...Ahhh!"

The copy-nin had entered him. He took him slowly and gently, he kissed him repeatedly, he stroked his skin and he whispered his name. Iruka moaned and panted, but this felt different, he felt warm and loved. He felt like Kakashi was caressing him every time he took him.

"Oh Kakashi..." he gasped, kissing him gently. "Kakashi...this is so good..."

"I want to take care of you..." Kakashi responded, gently rocking Iruka's body with his thrusts. "I want you right here where I can always have you."

"Kakashi..." Iruka felt the warmth, the nail dragging warmth building up in the pit of his stomach and it was starting to drive him wild. Every time Kakashi spoke he felt himself build up tighter, tighter like he would pop. "Oh God...I want...to be where you are..." he panted, his mind slowly starting to glaze over.

"But you can't always be...I'll be away, and you'll be here. But that's what I want. I want you to always be safe. I want to be selfish...I want you to be safe so I don't have to worry. But I won't be safe...you'll be the one not knowing, not me."

Kakashi's pace started to quicken. It was still gentle, but faster, deliciously faster. Iruka's head fell against the pillows and he moaned loudly. "Ooohh...Haaa!"

Kakashi took Iruka like that until he came loudly, holding onto the jounin like he'd drown if he let go. Kakashi continued to have him until he climaxed soon after. They both found themselves panting against each other again, covered in sweat and body fluids. Iruka tried to focus his thoughts on their conversation.

He knew what he was getting into with Kakashi and he'd never regret it. How could he? Not once in his life had he felt so strongly about another person. He had no idea he could want someone this badly. He cared deeply for Kakashi...he cared about every single one of his quirks, his faults and his strengths. He was beginning to think he loved him. Yes...that sounded right.

Iruka nuzzled Kakashi softly and the jounin responded by turning his head to gaze at him. Iruka looked him dead in the eye, his resolve shining through like a lantern in the dark.

"I don't care, Kakashi. I want to be with you, and I know what comes with that. If you want someone to come home to...I am happy to be that someone."

Kakashi stared hard at Iruka; not unkindly, but hard. Iruka held his gaze, daring him to question his words.

"I...I'm not sure what I've done to deserve you, Iruka, but I'm thankful." He breathed and then kissed the chuunin. It was the deepest kiss Iruka ever had; their mouths stayed open and their tongues gently danced against each other. They explored one another, every caress gentle, every touch an experiment. There was no technique, it was purely intimate.

When they slowly, slowly broke the kiss, Kakashi gently turned Iruka onto his side, lifted his leg and took him from behind. He made love to him slowly again, peppering Iruka with kisses as the chuunin whispered encouragements and moaned his name, because that's what Kakashi liked the most. He didn't care about Iruka physically pleasuring him, but wanted to express himself through the chuunin. He wanted to hear him and see him and feel him.

When they both climaxed, they instantly fell asleep against each other, caught up in one another's arms as if they'd never been anywhere else.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

WELL! Damn, I kinda went into zombie writing mode with that one. Exams are finally over, and I kinda snapped and wrote this entire chapter in one sitting haha. So nice to do nothing but what I want :D

Hope ya'll liked!


	20. Chapter 20

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi had a blissful month of missionless relaxation. Normally, he would have gone mental and driven Tsunade to within an inch of her sanity until she gave him something to do. Now, however...he found his time easily filled. Not only did he spend a lot of time with the chuunin academy sensei, but he found himself motivated to take up various other activities with a new outlook; things he may have done before out of necessity but was now exploring in a different light.

Iruka worked all day, obviously, so Kakashi found himself visiting the memorial stone on his own, just for fun. He would pass by in the mornings on his way to train to say hi; then he would leave as quickly as he came. Visiting the stone felt different to him now. Before, it had been his only real home; the place where his heart was. Now, he felt like he was quickly catching up with old friends. The names scrawled into the marble weren't capturing his soul and keeping it stuck to the dewy grass in front of the monument; he thought of them more as quiet companions who would always be there if he needed time to himself to sort out his thoughts.

He figured people would still think that was weird, but seeing as it was a vast improvement from his previous arrangements, he was proud of himself.

Kakashi also found himself doing a lot of cooking with his free time. He really enjoyed the look on Iruka's face when he came home to a fresh, warm meal waiting for him after a long day.

It also got him a lot of sex; Iruka really was thankful for everything.

Kakashi found his natural inclination to pick apart everything and everyone and tinker with their insides did not stop when he met Iruka. He started figuring out exactly what the chuunin loved the most, exactly what pissed him off the most, and then all the stuff in between. Depending on the mood Kakashi was in, he would pull whatever string he wished.

"KAKASHI!"

The jounin blinked in confusion. "What...? I was just putting it in the fridge."

"That's the CAN OPENER."

"...Oh! My mistake."

Iruka hated when things were out of place.

"Kakashi! Really, you're so sweet..."

"Maa, it's just a flower."

Iruka loved surprises.

"KAKASHI! ALL OF THEM, REALLY?"

"Iruka. Nin-dogs are people, too."

Iruka hated when the dogs were in the bed. Eating raw steak.

You get the point.

Iruka also hated it when Kakashi spoke to him in riddles, when he would replace himself with a shadow clone when the chuunin was trying to explain something to him...etc.

But mostly, Iruka liked things about Kakashi; and that was one of the things Kakashi liked the most about Iruka, too.

Their month of quiet time together came to an end, however.

Iruka felt a presence at his side and whipped around, swinging his spatula in a threatening arc.

It met thin air, as he expected.

"One day, Kakashi. One day, I'm going to get you."

"Aww, you're so cute when you dream." The jounin cooed, once again beside his chuunin. He was perched on the kitchen counter, arms crossed, his lazy countenance armed and ready. Iruka stuck his tongue out and focused his attention back on dinner.

"So, what did you get up to today? I noticed you weren't around when I got home."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, before deciding he was being stupid by hesitating to tell his lover what he needed to tell him.

"Well. I was at the mission's desk."

Iruka stopped stirring. "Oh?"

"Ah. Yah. I have a mission."

Iruka smiled and turned to the copy-nin. "Well...that was nice while it lasted, wasn't it?"

Kakashi ducked his head slightly, fiddling with the end of his vest. "Yah, it was."

"How long?"

"Well...should be a few days."

"Oh!" Iruka laughed. "That's not bad at all. It'll give me time to get some marking done." He said with a saucy glare, pinching Kakashi's thigh.

"Maaaa, that's domestic abuse."

Iruka just laughed and turned back to his cooking.

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "I should probably tell you the rest of the mission..."

The chuunin glanced at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow. "Umm. Yes, that would be good?"

"Well. TECHNICALLY I'm hunting down an S-class missing nin. But, he's apparently an idiot, so Tsunade says it shouldn't be more than two days."

Iruka tried not to get antsy. "Oh. Well...what makes her so sure about that?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head characteristically. "Ah. He kind of...gave himself up and then decided he wouldn't like the prison food, so he ran away."

Iruka gaped. "REALLY?"

"Yup. So, it's just me and Genma on this mission. She figured my IQ alone would be more than sufficient, but since he IS an S-class, she erred on the side of caution."

Iruka shook his head and took a sip of his soup. It was definitely ready. He pulled the pot off the stove and started to pour portions into two bowls.

"So, what exactly has he done to make him S-class?" Iruka asked absently, putting a little extra spice onto their steaming dinners.

"Oh. You know...hedestroyedavillageorsomething, some ol' same ol'."

Iruka's brows furrowed and he paused mid way to the dinner table with their food.

"...Did you say he-"

"Iruka, you've been working all day, let me get that." Kakashi cut in quickly, sweeping the bowls away from his lover and bouncing over to their eventual location of ingestion.

Iruka was not having it.

"Kakashi..."

"What? Did you ask something? Come on ,Iruka, it's getting cold."

The chuunin continued to glare at him before walking slowly to his chair, sitting down and levelling the jounin with a look that told him he was letting him get away with it...for now.

They finished their food amid a story from Iruka of a student of his who had a strange fetish with coloured paper.

"He won't use a kunai unless I wrap it in purple and pink streamers. I've never seen anything like it. I want to talk to his parents about it, but his father is a proud, masculine ninja and I'm afraid he'd be ashamed."

Kakashi was silent for a moment.

"Iruka."

"...Yes?"

"That kid is a wimp."

"Kakashi!"

"You need to realize these things; not everyone is cut out to be a shinobi."

Iruka sighed. "Yes, I know...but he KIND of reminds me of Gai; and look how Gai turned out."

Kakashi shuddered and Iruka laughed lightly.

"I mean, look at the SHINOBI he is."

Kakashi shook his head. "Iruka. Gai is one of a kind. I mean...I don't know what the hell he did to Lee, but Gai's head is made of solid rock. There are not many people with that kind of determination."

Iruka sipped the last bit of his soup. "We'll see; I think there's hope for him."

"You'd try and turn that spoon into a ninja if you could."

Said spoon when whizzing by Kakashi's head.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was a weekday, so Iruka had to get to bed at a decent time. They stayed up, reading with each other, before it was time for them to go to bed. Iruka tried to make excuses to delay the inevitable end of the day, and therefore the start of Kakashi's mission, and suggest things they could do together instead. Kakashi could see through Iruka like saran wrap and ushered him into the washroom to clean up.

When Iruka emerged from the bathroom, it was to find Kakashi still dressed and sitting on top of the sheets of the bed. He felt his stomach drop and his heart twist excruciatingly; both things happening at the same time was a horrible combination.

"Come here, Iruka." Kakashi asked softly, raising his hand in beckoning. Iruka's feelings of dread were etched very clearly over his animated features.

Iruka padded to the bed and climbed in over Kakashi, settling down at his side and curling up against him. He buried his face in the side of the jounins chest, as if the mission wouldn't find him if he hid there. Kakashi gently ran his fingers through Iruka's hair, discarding his hair tie with practiced ease.

"Are you playing the mission down for me, Kakashi?" Iruka mumbled the question into the fabric of Kakashi's clothes, not willing to look up.

"So what if I am, Iruka? Why do you want to torture yourself?" Kakashi's voice was low and husky, but gentle. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of the chuunin's head.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"Mphkay."

Kakashi smiled. "Are you eating my clothes?"

Iruka popped his chin up onto Kakashi's stomach. "You're warm."

Iruka would never, ever get sick of the feel of Kakashi's strong body. He would never get tired of his gentle hands.

He suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion; emotion for Kakashi. It was like someone lit a match somewhere in his body and his entire being went up in flame.

"Kakashi...I..." He suddenly felt excruciatingly embarrassed, and buried his face into his lover's torso again. Wow there, Iruka; reign it in.

The copy-nin stared down at his lover, his face set and unreadable. He continued to caress the academy sensei's hair softly.

"Iruka...I have to go soon."

Iruka looked up at him and smiled brightly; he wanted to see him off with the right attitude. "Alright, Kakashi! Please, be safe, and come back without-"

He was cut off by Kakashi's kiss; his strong, deep kiss. Iruka responded instantly and threw his arms up around the copy-nin's neck, pulling his lover close to him and pressing their chests together. The jounin pulled Iruka's shirt up and grazed his fingers over the soft skin of his back. A shiver crawled through the chuunin's sides and he gasped lightly into the copy-nins mouth.

Kakashi pulled back gently, bringing his hand to Iruka's face and caressing his cheek with his thumb.

"I'm not stupid enough to leave you, Iruka. I want this for as long as I can have it." He breathed, his gaze burning holes into Iruka's memory.

"Now sleep...sleep and wake up at peace."

Iruka realized at that moment that the sharingan looked active.

He tried to protest but his body already felt heavy. He figured it was probably best this way, anyway.

Kakashi pressed a soft kiss to Iruka's forehead. Then, everything went dark.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke the next morning feeling relaxed and calm. He knew it was just the sharingan but he had to go to work, so he took it as a blessing and went about his morning stress free.

Sadly, the hypnotic affect did not last long. Midway through the day, Iruka realized he was terrified. Unfortunately it happened half way through one of his lectures.

"Iruka-senseeeiiii!"

"Yes, Chikyu?"

"Ahmm, how do you throw the kunai's so that they whip around and stab someone in the side?"

Iruka froze. Stabbed by a kunai.

What if Kakashi was getting stabbed?

What if he was already dead?

Sweet shit, Iruka, get it together.

"...Ah..."

Iruka pictured Kakashi and Genma, covered in blood, lying lifeless against a tree.

He'd never be able to fall asleep next to him again.

"...Iruka-sensei?"

_Come on, focus! It's only been half a day; he probably hasn't even found his target yet._

"Ehem...sorry about that. Ah, well, that is very difficult to do Chikyu. You would have to have very good aim and also a very precise control of your chakra. Please keep such thoughts from your mind until you grasp the basics."

Well, that was a good save.

He took a deep breath while some of his class scribbled notes.

"Ah, alright, everyone. Please put your defence books away for now. We're going to skip ahead to history."

"AWWW!"

"Please, everyone."

The class looked at each other curiously at the waver in their teacher's voice. Iruka was never anything but strong and stable. They quietly put their books away and pulled out their history texts.

"Thank you..." He coughed to clear his throat and turned to the blackboard.

"Now, last time we finished talking about the Second Hokage, so we'll move onto the Third..."

Who died.

Died.

Alone...Iruka would be alone again. Kakashi was dead for sure. Iruka wasn't allowed to have people in his life that he loved; things were too good with Kakashi.

He broke the chalk.

Ah hell...

He whipped around. "Recess!"

The class gawked at him, utterly confused. They weren't sure if they should actually go...

Iruka's strained smile was starting to hurt his cheeks.

"PLEASE CLASS GO FOR RECESS!"

They all jumped up at the same time. "Yes, Iruka-sensei!" and ran out.

When Iruka was alone, he crumpled to his chair.

He seriously couldn't keep sending his kids outside every time Kakashi went on missions.

He was so in love with the copy-nin it was ridiculous.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka walked home from class, dejected and ashamed of himself. He figured this is what it would be like in the beginning, but that he would quickly get used to it and settle into a routine of Kakashi being gone and him going about his day without having a heart attack every few hours. The fact that he was even acting like this was insane, considering he knew EXACTLY what the shinobi life was like. Kakashi had been coming home alive from missions since...well. He wasn't entirely sure, but he remembered Kakashi mentioning to him during their confrontation at the chuunin exams that he'd become a chuunin when he was 6.

...Holy shit. Iruka had NEVER thought of that again. 6 years old...that was insane. He took the chuunin exam before he'd even graduated from the academy?

...DID he graduate from the academy?

Did Kakashi ever go to school?

He decided he would find out when the jounin got back. He wanted to know absolutely everything about him.

Iruka was so caught up in his own misery he didn't notice the ball of man catapulting towards him at speeds that broke the sound barrier.

SMASH.

Iruka leaped backwards and whipped out his kunai, ready for battle. Holy shit! Maybe that crazy S-class bastard had made his way to Konoha before Kakashi and Genma had gotten to him and-

"IRUKA-SENSEEIIII! IT IS A PLEASURE TO SEE YOUR ADORABLE FACE AGAIN!"

Iruka calmed instantly and almost smacked himself; of COURSE it was Gai.

"Ah, Gai-san...you scared me." He laughed nervously, putting his weapon away.

The green-clad sensei stood straight, hands on his hips, and laughed loudly.

"HA HA HA! It is always best to be on your guard, Easily Startled One!"

"Ah. Yes..."

Gai seemed to shake the conversation away with a couple rapid rotations of his head. "Enough of that! I have come to offer my company! I am back from a long mission by myself and wish to share the dinner table with another whose conversation I do not find lacking!"

Well, that explained why they had hadn't seen Gai in the last two weeks.

"I would love to, Gai-san. I'm lacking company tonight too, it seems." He responded with a smile, which he fought HARD to keep light.

Gai saw straight through him like he was transparent.

"Ah. Kakashi is away on a mission, I remember hearing that."

Iruka wilted slightly. "Yes, he is. But, not a long one!"

Gai blinked. "He is going after that psychotic windbag, isn't he?"

Iruka tried not to gulp. "Ah...psychotic windbag? I know he's S-class..."

"He blew an entire village off of its foundations with two deep breaths. The lungs on that guy..."

Iruka paled. Considerably.

"...He...he did what?"

Gai realized he'd been pretty dense.

"I MEAN...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." He leaped over to Iruka and slapped him hard on the back. "MY RIVAL IS A GENIUS WHOSE NAME MAKES SHINOBI COUNTRIES OVER SHUDDER AND WHEEP! FEAR NOT!"

"Of...of course, Gai-san."

Iruka looked like he was going to throw up and Gai wanted to hurt himself for being such a freakin tool.

"Iruka, let us go and enjoy some bountiful refreshments! My treat! We shall discuss...umm...things that are...not...ANYWAY." Without another word, Gai swooped down and scooped Iruka up by the back of his knees. The chuunin 'meeped' as he was tossed over Gai's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"G-Gai, this is a little unnecessary..."

"NONSENSE! LET US MAKE HASTE!"

Gai barrelled down the streets, kicking up so much dust vendors on both sides choked and sneezed for two minutes afterwards.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Once Iruka got Gai to calm down a little, they had very pleasant conversation over food and tea. A few of Iruka's fellow chuunin friends ran into them and cast extremely confused glances at the mismatched pair. Neither of them had ever seen the two shinobi talking to each other, and now they were having a very friendly conversation while sharing dinner in a cozy restaurant. It made Iruka a little warm and fuzzy deep down; he knew not many chuunin associated with jounin and he felt a little privileged.

When dinner was over it was still fairly early; only around 7 o'clock. The earliest Iruka could possibly go to bed without feeling like he was being ridiculous was 10; so he still had 3 hours to kill. He admitted to himself, with shame, that he wasn't looking forward to it.

Gai stopped him gently as they were about to reach that point in the street where they inevitably had to part ways.

"Iruka-sensei, what were you planning on doing with the rest of your night?"

Iruka scratched his scar with tiny, slightly embarrassed movements. "Ah, well. I was just going to read a bit at home I suppose."

Gai's grin blinded a nearby pedestrian. "Well! If you do not wish to spend it alone I was just about to meet up with Lee and give him some evening training sessions! You are more than welcome to accompany me and witness my Adorable Student's road to achieving ultimate success!"

Iruka laughed happily, a broad smile spreading over his face like water. "That sounds perfect, Gai! I would love to see Lee train." Lee hadn't been a student of Iruka's, but he had seen him around quite a bit and had heard a lot about him from Naruto.

"IT IS SETTLED!"

And ,once again, Iruka found himself hoisted over Gai's shoulder and speeding down the street before he could protest. He was starting to think this was easier for Gai, as opposed to matching Iruka's pace.

Or...maybe Gai was just weird. That was probably it.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Iruka felt them stop, he assumed they were at the training grounds. He couldn't ACTUALLY see, as his head was pointed in the opposite direction, but when Gai had a destination he tended to get there without delay.

Sure enough, the chuunin felt his feet touch the ground a moment later. He took a second to still his spinning head and let his newly eaten dinner settle back down to his stomach instead of half way up his throat. Once his internal organs ceased their gurgling protests, he turned around.

It was a small area, one he supposed Gai and Lee used exclusively since he had never been there; he tended to make use of most of the designated training areas in Konoha to give his students options and possibly privacy. Lee was there, but all that was really visible was the top of his head, legs and feet as he was currently flopped over in a very exaggerated bow.

"GAI-SENSEI!" He proclaimed to the floor. "I've been awaiting training eagerly!"

Oh, goodness. He was like a little Gai clone...

Gai sauntered right up to him and came to an abrupt stop, his body pin straight. "Rise, student!"

Lee did as he was told. His face was set in an ultra serious frown and his thick eyebrows were crunched down, covering half his round eyes with their furriness.

Iruka felt HORRIBLE thinking it, but he couldn't help but feel like Lee had had his social status stolen from him...

Clearly, Gai had done a lot for Lee. More than most sensei probably did for their students. But...maybe he should have left his style and mannerisms to someone else.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Lee whipped into one of Gai's poses. Gai, rainbows sprouting from all sides, spun into the same pose. Together, they caused several birds to have heart attacks nearby and for the ground to split in a long crack beneath them. They both had Super Serious Expressions, their eyebrows furrowed down so far they practically ran into the bridge of their noses.

Iruka watched in horrified awe.

What _was _this...?

"WE ARE!" Gai supplied. "THE BEAUTIFUL PAIR! THE TWIN BLUE BEASTS!"

"...Oh..." Was Iruka's response.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Iruka sat back on the grass to watch what he was sure would be madness.

Gai was suddenly incredibly serious. "LEE! We did not train for two whole weeks. You must be weak and flabby as a result."

"I feel terrible, sensei! I feel as if I shall never recover!"

"SO!" He jabbed a finger in the air. Lee leaned forward in anticipation.

"You shall put on...the 1 ton weights!"

"YES SENSEI!"

Iruka blinked. Did he say 1 ton?

"THEN! You shall run 100 laps around this training ground –AND THEN! You shall do 200 push ups! Once you have done all of that, we will spar!"

Iruka almost sputtered out loud. What the hell!?

"YES SENSEI!" Was Lee's response before zooming over to an inconspicuous black duffel bag. He whipped out a couple of leg weights which he strapped onto his legs with ease. Iruka could not even try to believe those each weighed 1 ton. That was damn impossible.

"SENSEI!" was Lee's salute before he wound up and blasted off down a well worn circular track, no doubt made by him and Gai. Huge clouds of dust lightly billowed up in his wake.

Iruka stood and tentatively walked over to the green clad sensei's side.

"Ah...Gai-san. Did you really just make Lee put on 2 tons worth of weight on his legs...?"

Gai spun around, his giant white grin in place. "OF COURSE! We never go less than that these days. He must always be improving if he is to stay successful."

Iruka was stunned.

Or he thought he was. That was nothing compared to how he felt when Lee suddenly came to a grinding halt right next to them not a minute after Gai had finished speaking.

"I HAVE FINISHED MY LAPS SENSEI!" then he dropped down to the ground and began his push ups so blindingly fast it looked like he was staying in the same spot.

Iruka just stared.

He finished in under a minute. He leaped up, straight as a board, saluting Gai with all the seriousness of a commander mid mission.

"I AM NOW READY TO SPAR WITH YOU, SENSEI!"

"Excellent, Lee!" Was Gai's response. "Although...you were 10 seconds slower on your push up's! Come on, Lee! There is no excuse for laziness!"

"YES SENSEI! SORRY SENSEI!"

Without any kind of indication or warning, Gai threw a punch at Lee that was so fierce Iruka couldn't help but gasp. The smaller bowl-cut ninja dodged it, but not easily. He had to twist so far back his shoulders almost touched the ground. He whirled around on the spot, landing so that he was crouched forward instead of backwards. Leaping up, he whipped his leg around and sent a wickedly fast kick towards his sensei's head.

Gai blocked, and the match began. Iruka, while surprised at how hard Gai was on Lee, could clearly see that Lee loved it and needed it. Whenever the young shinobi was kicked to the ground, he seemed to revel in getting back up and going for another attack. Their sparing and training kept the spirited boy going; that much was obvious.

Those two had to be the oddest pair of people Iruka had ever met, but they truly warmed his heart.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was at least an hour before Lee was so winded that he couldn't continue fighting. Gai gave him water, ruffled his hair and began to tell him all the things he could improve on. They talked amiably for a bit, before Lee admitted that he really had to be getting home and bowed low to his sensei.

He seemed to remember Iruka was there, and bowed to him as well. "Goodnight, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka felt strange bowing back, but found he didn't have to worry about it as Lee had taken off before he'd decided the most appropriate way to say goodbye.

Gai stood watching his student go, his hands on his hips. Iruka rose to meet him again, coming to a stop when they were beside each other.

"Wow, Gai-sensei. Lee is quite the shinobi; and he has you to thank for it. I'll admit; your training style had me a little concerned as it is quite harsh, but he responds so well to it that...uh..."

Gai had massive waterfalls of tears absolutely gushing out of his eyes.

"IRUKA-SENSEI! MY ADORABLE STUDENTS SUCCESS MEANS THE WORLD TO ME AND I APPREICATE YOU PRAISNG HIM!"

"...Oh...aha, Gai, don't mention it."

For the third time that day, Iruka found himself slung over Gai's shoulder. He just made himself as comfortable as possible and tried to enjoy the ride.

After Gai had dropped him off and disappeared into the darkness he was so tired and happy from his warm evening with his comrades that he washed up and fell right into bed. He took a moment, as he snuggled into his blankets and pillows that were drenched in Kakashi's scent, to send his hopes up into the heavens that his jounin was alive and well.

And then, he drifted off to sleep.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day found Iruka in much better spirits. He still found himself thinking of Kakashi throughout the day, but he didn't need to excuse his class so he could wallow in his own self-inflicted misery, so he saw that as a sign that he was improving.

He tried not to think about the fact that the enemy that Kakashi, and only one other jounin, were facing was so strong he could demolish an entire village in one shot.

Definitely best not to think about that.

Instead, his new theory was to think of all the ways he could make Kakashi happy when he came home. Missions were stressful, dangerous and a lot of the time, lonely. He would try and make Kakashi feel safe, relaxed and loved.

He would start with eggplant tempura.

Kakashi ADORED eggplant tempura.

Thinking about the silly grin on the jounin's face when a plate of fried, breaded delight was plopped before him had Iruka smiling like an idiot to himself as he graded his students pop quiz's.

Well...this was FAR more pleasant! If he could keep this up, he'd manage to NOT stress himself into an early grave.

Too bad he had a mission's desk shift tonight.

Not the best place to take your mind off of a mission.

Except, to his surprise, it was completely dead and Kotetsu was in the strangest mood he had ever seen him in. He was constantly cracking the craziest jokes, making faces, playing tricks with his pens and doing stunts on his chair. Iruka found himself laughing throughout his entire shift instead of focusing on what Kakashi could be dealing with at that moment.

Iruka thought that someone up in the sky must have taken pity on him this time around.

When he got home, he was exhausted once again and in the same great mood he was in the night before. Except, this was night number two of Kakashi's mission; that meant this was supposed to be the 'best case scenario' date of his return.

He took a deep, shaky breath and forced himself not to think about it. The chances of Kakashi coming back today were slim to none and the chuunin knew it. No need to torture himself.

It was with practiced self control that he washed up, arranged his papers and crawled into bed without glancing over his shoulder every five seconds.

Iruka was going to wake up alone and if he just accepted it and went to bed it would be easier on him.

He closed his eyes, tried not to smell Kakashi on the sheets and stilled his breathing in an attempt to fall asleep.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun was peaking over the horizon when he heard a crash in his living room. He bolted out of bed, groggy and confused. What the hell...either that was a REALLY sloppy robber or Naruto had just broken into his house.

But...Naruto was away, training.

He slipped out of the bed cautiously, unsure if he should bother arming himself. Chances were that it was an animal or something.

Or...something.

He peeked around the corner, his back to the wall, his defences high. He looked into the living room.

Nothing was there.

Okay...not creepy at all.

He turned back around, glancing along his hallway, assessing every little detail.

Nothing had been touched out there, but the lamp in his living room had been knocked over. He couldn't even see where whatever it was had entered his house; no broken windows, no open doors.

He crept towards his bedroom again, wishing he had grabbed a kunai. What were the chances that whatever had been clumsy enough to smash into his lamp would be swift enough to run past him while he was right there in the hall...

He glanced inside.

Someone was on his bed.

Holy shit.

He could sense no chakra, which meant the person was suppressing it skilfully; it was impossible not to use chakra and move that fast.

Whoever was there, he had decided to take the darkest corner of his room as his resting place; the rest of the bedroom was slowly starting to be consumed by the early morning light, causing shadows to cast themselves opposite the sun.

He took a deep breath and stalked straight into his room.

"Who is there?"

His bedside lamp clicked on.

"Maa...I'm bleeding again."

Iruka actually whimpered out loud. "KAKASHI!"

He ran into the bed and nearly tackled his love –except that his eyes just managed to grasp what his ears barely registered.

Kakashi had a fist sized patch of blood seeping through his uniform –and his vest was gone.

"Kakashi! You're hurt! Why aren't you in the hospital?"

Kakashi waved him off weakly. "I did go...they patched me up. Help me with my shirt."

His voice was slightly raspy and he was obviously exhausted. Iruka was almost beside himself with worry.

He slowly, gently peeled the jounin's shirt off of him; his mask going with it. When Kakashi lifted his arm, he winced harshly. Iruka soothed him with gentle whispers and the copy-nin was soon too distracted by the warmth of his chuunin to worry about his pain.

Discarding the bloodied garment, Iruka couldn't help but gasp at his lovers wound. He had a gash starting at the top of his left shoulder that sliced right down his entire torso and ended at his right hip. It was covered in clean gauze, obviously professionally done, but there was that one spot near his right hip that was bleeding again.

He leaped off the bed and ran into his bathroom, fishing around quickly for his first aid supplies. He found what he was looking for; more gauze. Making his way back to Kakashi, he motioned for the jounin to lift his arms slightly, and he obeyed. In a moment, Iruka had wrapped the gauze around Kakashi's abdomen and patched up the bloody injury. Satisfied, he placed the gauze on the bedside table and quickly forgot about it.

Iruka slipped his arm and his shoulder behind Kakashi and pulled the jounin close to him, resting their heads together and leaning the tired shinobi's body against his. The copy-nin let himself be moved and settled into Iruka with a small sigh.

"Kakashi, you're still so tender. Maybe we should take you back? I won't leave you alone; I'll stay with you there."

Kakashi shook his head slowly. "No point...I just need rest. They already healed me. I kind of...aggravated my wounds when I stumbled into your lamp like an amateur."

Iruka laughed softly, pressing his lips to Kakashi's forehead. "I thought you were Naruto..."

There was a pause.

"That's not very nice, Iruka. I'm injured. You're supposed to say comforting things to me."

"Kakashi..." Iruka whispered, running his knuckles lightly over the jounin's cheek. "What happened?"

Kakashi sighed, obviously not impressed with his story. "Maa...he was strong. It wasn't an easy fight, but we won. He got me with his specialty move; razor sharp wind, or something."

Iruka grazed the tips of his fingers lightly over the copy-nin's alarmingly long injury. "Is it...I mean, was it deep?"

Kakashi glanced up at Iruka. "No. There wouldn't be much of me left if he'd been faster."

Iruka tried not to react. Who cares what almost happened; Kakashi was here, and he was alive.

"Or, if you'd been slower." Iruka responded with a smile. "You're very quick."

Kakashi's signature eye smile returned. "That's more like it."

Iruka pressed a gentle kiss to Kakashi's lips. "I'm so glad you're back, Kakashi. It hurts me to see you in pain, but I'm mostly just happy to see you."

Kakashi's Unreadable Expression was back. He lay limp in Iruka's arms, but stared deep into his eyes.

"You know...I can't believe I used to come back from missions to an empty apartment." He paused, lifting his hand slowly to Iruka's face. He lightly traced the chuunin's lips with his fingers.

"I can't tell you what this means to me. You are always warm...and right now, I feel at home. "

Iruka's eyes were glued to Kakashi's; the jounin was levelling him with such pure, unmasked affection and gratitude that the chuunin almost cried out. He didn't want to imagine Kakashi before; thinking of him coming back, injured this way, to a cold apartment with no one to talk to and no one to help him almost made him nauseous. It was worse realizing how long he had done it for.

Iruka was overwhelmed with emotion. His eyes started to water and he stared at Kakashi with his mouth slightly open and his eyes swimming with energy.

"Kakashi..." he choked out, his throat constricting.

"I love you. I...I really, really love you."

Kakashi seemed to be too stunned to react for a slight moment before his expression turned primal and he sucked in a quick, sharp breath. Overwhelmed with his own feelings, Iruka quickly captured Kakashi's lips in a powerful, emotional kiss, tears sliding off of his cheeks and landing on the jounin's skin. The copy-nin gripped the chuunin's shirt and pulled himself up, answering his lovers kiss with equal intensity. He wanted to throw Iruka down onto the bed and absolutely ruin him, but he could barely stand lifting his chest to meet the chuunins, let alone make passionate love to him.

"_Iruka_..." Kakashi moaned into the academy sensei's lips, gripping his hair and pulling his head back slightly to break their heated kiss. Iruka keened and the jounin ran his tongue up his lover's throat.

"Come down here." The copy nin growled, yanking on Iruka's shirt. The chuunin obeyed and slid down the bed, slowly taking Kakashi with him. To his surprise, once his back was against the mattress the jounin rolled onto his right side and hovered over him, his eyes and his mouth and his entire being fierce.

"You had to go and be completely irresistible when I'm crippled, didn't you?"

Iruka just smiled softly.

Kakashi glanced down; down Iruka's neck and down his chest. He devoured the smaller man with his hungry eyes, feeling possessive and lucky and heated. He wanted to respond in kind, but he felt everything was stuck in his throat. His eyes made it back to Iruka's. He looked into them and let him see everything. He wanted him to see how much he cared.

"Iruka...I..." He trailed off, his voice growing hoarse. He sighed, exasperated, and ducked his head.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Iruka whispered.

The jounin sheepishly glanced back up, obviously torn and hating it.

"I just can't. It's not that I don't want to..."

Iruka studied his lover for a moment. He gently caressed his cheek again. He could see Kakashi struggling...maybe the jounin just needed a different way of saying what he wanted to say.

"Kakashi. Whatever you feel...maybe you need to use different words? Say whatever comes to your mind naturally."

This seemed to trigger something in the copy-nin. His gaze fell heavily on Iruka; he was stone serious, he was passionate and he was almost primal.

"I would die for you." He growled.

Iruka let out a strangled cry and Kakashi dove down and captured his lips. Amid moans, whimpers and murmurs, they kissed. They kissed deeply, softly, lightly; every way they could feel each other. Their kisses were always heated, but this felt different. Every time their lips pressed together it was like a transfer of what was in their hearts. This time, it was like the only thing powering them was their deep feelings for each other; each long kiss, each slight peck was a proclamation of how the other felt. Iruka's hands wandered over Kakashi's injuries, marvelling at how the copy-nin still felt powerful despite being wounded so badly.

The jounin went for Iruka's pants, but was stopped. The academy sensei gently brought his lovers hand up to rest on his face instead; he smiled and said that they would save it for when Kakashi felt better.

"Passionate declarations of love are supposed to be followed by passionate sex, damnit."

Kakashi was obviously having a hard time controlling himself, which was not helping Iruka in the arousal department.

The chuunin flushed. "Sorry...I couldn't help it. You said such nice things..."

Kakashi's response was to kiss Iruka again. The kiss was slow; searingly slow. Kakashi's tongue dipped in and out of Iruka's mouth, deeply and sensually, imitating the motions of his body as if he was making love to him. The chuunin moaned, low in his throat, heat pooling in his groin and making his head spin.

"Oh God..." he whispered, his nails digging into Kakashi's biceps.

"Mmm..." Kakashi sucked on Iruka's bottom lip, then rolled on top of him, balancing his weight on his forearms.

Searing hot pain clawed at his chest. He hissed and leaped off, landing on his back and twisting his eyes shut.

"Well..._fuck..._"

Iruka rolled onto his side, gazing down at Kakashi anxiously. "Are you alright? Okay, enough of that for tonight. Just stay still for a moment."

He climbed off the bed and ran to the bathroom. Running the tap as cold as it could go, he soaked a cloth and wrung it out. Padding back to the bedroom, he stood beside his lover with a patient smile on his lips.

"Here...this will make it feel better. Keep your arms at your sides."

Gently, he pressed the cold cloth against the edges of the copy-nins gash, keeping his touches light so he did not soak through the bandages. Kakashi jerked slightly at the chill on his skin then sighed when it eased the hot throbbing of his injury. Iruka slowly, lightly worked his way down the long, clean cut and Kakashi kept his eyes on his face the entire time.

"There. Is that better?" Iruka asked softly when he'd finished.

The jounin nodded.

With a smile, the chuunin returned the cloth to the bathroom, then climbed into bed with Kakashi. He snuggled up against his lover's side, resting his head on his uninjured shoulder.

"I love you."

Iruka stared at Kakashi, the unexpected words ringing in his ears. Their eyes were locked again; Kakashi's gaze was strong and confident. He was completely sure of himself and not one ounce of hesitation or fear lingered in his countenance. Iruka smiled, his face dancing with joy. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kakashi's forehead, then stretched out his arm and turned off the light.

"I love you, too." Iruka whispered into his jounin's ear and he felt Kakashi's hand grasp his outstretched arm possessively.

They kissed again, lightly, then settled into each other for a few hours of blissful sleep. Their bodies were still but their hearts still rang with fulfilled happiness, neither ever having felt so at peace or so at home.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

NAWWW. Hope ya'll liked! I think the next chapter after this will be the last one, but we'll see how things go!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND FOR YOUR REVIEWS! 3


	21. Chapter 21

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was like their confessions to each other had opened up a whole new chapter to their relationship. They had obviously been affectionate towards one another before, but now it really felt like they were slowly building something solid that was meant to carry them both as far into the future as they could possibly go.

Kakashi was 'mission safe' for at least a week to recover from his injuries, although Iruka had poked around the mission's desk and gotten word that there weren't any missions of the copy-nin's calibre on the roster for a while. During his recovery time, Kakashi made sure to milk his 'life threatening injuries' for all they were worth.

"Maaa...Iruka. So much pain..."

"Kakashi, your wound is completely sealed. I know perfectly well that you are capable of reaching the book on your own."

"But...it makes me feel so much better when you do it."

An exasperated sigh. "That worked the first three times, but it is NOT working now."

"Iruka..."

"Kakashi."

A pout. "Irruuukkkaa..."

"Kakashi."

A frown. "You're really not going to get it?"

"NO, Kakashi."

"But you're not doing anything..."

"I'm making LUNCH."

"The book is near the kitchen."

"The book is right across from you."

"Right across is an underestimation. I am aghast at your visual analysis skills; what are you teaching those children?"

"Criticizing my teaching skills is not going to help you get that book."

And so on.

They fell into a comfortable routine with each other that felt so natural neither one really realized when it happened. They just gravitated towards one another, and their affinity to be together gradually increased as their relationship developed. Thanks to Iruka, they also spent a considerable amount of time in public together. This raised absolutely no eyebrows since everyone's natural inclination was to assume they were good friends and nothing more. Had Iruka been a woman, people would have been ragging on them about what their relationship was long ago. As it stood, his friends just wanted to know how the heck the chuunin had become so close with the copy-nin.

"Well, we were on that mission together; I handed in my mission report RIGHT to you, Izumo."

"Well, YAH. But I've been on a mission with Kakashi-san and he doesn't wanna hang out with me."

Iruka laughed. "Are you jealous?"

"Yah, kinda!"

The academy sensei laughed again. "Why don't you just try to talk to him? He won't bite."

Kotetsu took this moment to bud in. "Izumo, you couldn't hold a pigeon's interest, let alone Kakashi-san."

"Well, I'm good enough for YOU, aren't I?"

"Think about what you just said." Kotetsu deadpanned.

Iruka couldn't help but laugh. He knew Kakashi so well by this point that his 'star power' had completely faded. The chuunin remembered when he himself was amazed that Kakashi wanted to be around him, so he knew how his friends felt; but knowing the copy-nin how he now knew him, he realized that attitude was counter productive and utterly unnecessary.

"If you two really want to get to know Kakashi, why don't you join us tonight? We're planning on going to the Shaky Shinobi around 9 o'clock. Gai will be there as well." Iruka offered happily.

They stared, amazed.

"So you're just buddy buddy with all the jounin now, eh? Must be nice!"

Iruka shook his head at Izumo. "I wouldn't say that, but I do know a few of them. They're just...people, like us. Except far more talented." He explained with a smile. "I bet you would know more of them if you had a reason to."

"Well. I know Ebisu, but I feel like he doesn't count."

Kotetus laughed loudly, slapping his knee. "Poor Ebisu! He's a great guy, really. Really."

There was a slight pause, and then Izumo and Kotetsu were laughing again.

Iruka tried REALLY hard not to laugh with them, and just barely managed it. Poor Ebisu indeed...

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Iruka came home that day, he had something nagging at the back of his mind that he couldn't get rid of. He had been talking about his and Kakashi's relationship all day...but at the same time, he hadn't. Should he be telling people they were 'together'? They had to at SOME point. They couldn't hide it forever. And to be honest, he didn't really want to. He had no idea how people would react, but...it just seemed like their relationship could only go so far in secret. If they REALLY wanted to be together, they couldn't hide.

He was about to start on dinner when he heard a knock at the window. He smiled and opened it for his love.

"Don't you dare; I'm taking you out tonight. We'll eat dinner at the Shaky Shinobi before the others get there." Kakashi demanded from his spot on the window ledge.

Iruka smiled and held his hands up in surrender, away from any threatening kitchen utensils. "I'm all yours."

On the walk to the restaurant, Iruka decided to breech the subject that had been bothering him for the last hour.

"Kakashi. I was wondering...how exactly do you want to approach...ah...potentially telling people about our relationship?"

The jounin looked to Iruka in mild surprise. "Do we have to?"

"Well...not necessarily, but it feels wrong to go out of our way to hide it. I know you're a private person and so am I, but people are genuinely curious as to how we've gotten so close, and always saying 'oh, we really bonded on the mission' feels deceitful even if it is technically true."

Kakashi nodded lightly in understanding. After a moment of thought, he shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me, Iruka. Gai already knows, and Ten-err, Yamato doesn't pry; although if he asked I would enjoy telling him just to see the look on his face. There's really no one else who I speak to, so it's up to you."

Iruka smiled lightly. It made him feel a little better to know that if he did want to say something, he could.

After arriving at the restaurant they had a long, comfortable dinner together before Gai showed up with Genma.

"It is impossible to accomplish this; no one would believe you!"

"PFT, just because I don't run laps around Konoha on my hands while balancing a stack of books on one foot doesn't mean I don't have tricks up my sleeve, Gai." Genma retorted, crossing his arms. "You have no idea what I can do with my senbon."

"Judging by your drunken displays, I have a FAIRLY good idea what you can do with them."

Genma had the dignity to blush brilliantly.

Gai noticed the couple at that moment and waved to them; Genma was thankful for the distraction from their current conversation and turned his attention to them as well.

Iruka and Kakashi settled their bill and the four shinobi sat together at the bar. Iruka spoke to Genma, as he rarely had the opportunity to do so, and Gai and Kakashi fell into a friendly argument about who had better chakra control (obviously initiated by Gai).

A couple of hours later, Izumo and Kotetsu very timidly entered the bar. They noticed the row of intimidating jounin, plus Iruka, and looked like they were considering leaving. However, Iruka caught sight of them and waved them over enthusiastically. They glanced at each other before advancing.

"Hey, you two!" The academy sensei greeted with a smile. "Come and have a seat."

"You can have mine." Genma offered, standing. "I have a bone to pick with Gai, anyway."

The green clad jounin leaned back with a threatening frown to eye Genma as he walked over. Izumo and Kotetsu sat down, waving to the bartender for a drink.

"Man, I've barely ever seen these guys out before." Izumo commented, surprised. "What the heck have you done to them?"

Iruka laughed, scratching the scar on his nose in embarrassment. "I don't really think it's because of me...I HAVE gotten Kakashi to come out more, though."

"You shouldn't take credit for things when I'm not around to argue."

The three chuunin glanced up to watch Kakashi walk over and stand at Iruka's shoulder. The two other chuunin nodded in greeting.

"Hey, Kakashi-san" They resounded in unison.

Kakashi smiled at them, his eye curving up pleasantly. "Yo. Tsunade-sama let you off the hook long enough to have a drink?"

They both sighed sadly in response.

"Yaaaah...she's been REAL rough on us lately. I mean, it makes sense; the village kinda got creamed. But I'm getting Super Muscles just from carrying stacks of paper around." Kotetsu took that moment to pull up his sleeve and flex. "Look at that! I'm ripped."

Izumo rolled his eyes and Kakashi just smiled.

"Oi!" Genma rang in. "Don't talk about being ripped around Gai or he'll never let you hear the end of it."

"SILENCE!"

"Oh, Kakashi-san" Izumo leaned forward. "How yah healin' up after that mission with that crazy missing-nin? I saw you in the hospital wing and it looked pretty messy."

Kakashi shrugged lazily. "Maa. I didn't even remember getting hurt."

Izumo blinked. "Uh...really? Cause it was like...your entire body." He gestured wildly to show what he meant.

Kakashi looked confused. "Oh? Huh. I guess I barely felt it."

Iruka shook his head but Izumo and Kotetsu were utterly lost as to what to think. Iruka decided he should help and shoved the copy-nin playfully. "Don't listen to him –he's been whining about it all week."

Kakashi looked betrayed. He pouted slightly. "Hey..."

Izumo and Kotetsu looked surprised. They relaxed a little at Iruka's casual nature around Kakashi and the jounin's admittance of defeat.

"Geeze, Kakashi-san, you sure can pull a convincing face." Kotetsu eventually replied.

"The mask sure helps, though." Izumo quipped. "Bet that's why you sport it, huh? No one can figure out what the heck is going on."

Kakashi suddenly looked serious. He leaned in close to the two chuunin. "Do you guys want to know...the real reason I wear the mask?"

They looked at each other. They looked back at Kakashi, their eyebrows raised.

"Oh, do you have a hideous deformity?" Kotetsu retorted with obvious sarcasm.

"Nope. That's just a rumour."

They leaned in slightly, not expecting him to rule that option out so soon.

"Fine, what's the 'real reason?'" Izumo asked, attempting to sound flippant but his eyes gleamed despite his tone.

"Well..." Kakashi's eye seemed to dazzle with lightning like intensity. The two chuunin couldn't help it; they leaned in even closer.

Kakashi gripped the top of his mask and yanked it down, revealing his face in all its handsome, unmarred glory. He grinned wolfishly.

Kotetsu and Izumo yelled and fell out of their chairs, their arms flailing. The whole bar turned to look at the commotion, but Kakashi had lifted his mask back up and was just hanging out, hands in his pockets, looking bored.

The two chuunin slowly stood and righted their stools, sitting on them without taking their astounded eyes off of the copy-nin.

"Holy SHIT. Did you really just do that!?" Kotetsu was openly gawking, but he couldn't help it. Kakashi never showed his face to anyone, and he just...ripped his mask down like it was nothing.

Izumo was speechless.

Kakashi blinked. "Do what?"

The two chuunin were silent, having no idea how to respond.

"Really, you guys need to relax; you're going to stress yourselves into an early grave." Kakashi added casually, before turning back to Iruka with a smile.

The academy sensei was also staring at Kakashi in shock; but his expression was laced with obvious concern. It had surprised Iruka just as much as his friends that his lover had been so flippant about showing his face. He didn't know if this meant Kakashi was changing even more then he suspected, or if he never really cared about it in the first place.

"Kakashi..." Iruka whispered, his gaze changing to a questioning one.

In answer, the jounin just smiled down at his lover, gently tweaking the chuunin's nose in a playful gesture that let Iruka know that nothing serious was happening. Iruka couldn't help but flash a smile in return.

When he looked away from the copy-nin he blushed furiously at the questioning glances Izumo and Kotetsu were sending him; he guessed the little moment between he and Kakashi had been a lot more openly intimate then he'd thought.

The rest of the night went RELATIVELY without incident. At one point Gai insisted he bench press both Izumo and Kotetsu on top of the bar, but the mortified chuunin insisted that their seats were plenty comfortable and they'd rather stay there. The jounin seemed to pick up from Kakashi how fun it was to torment the poor Hokage assistants and riddled them with filthy, inside jokes and insinuation about taking them on dangerous A-class missions and letting them fend for themselves.

By the end of the night, the jounin looked thoroughly entertained and the two guest chuunin looked like they would think twice about hanging out with the 'elite' of their kind again.

"IZUMO-SAN! Will you not partake in an arm wrestling match with me!?"

"Ah...G-Gai-san...I don't think that's a good idea..."

"BUT WHY? YOU MUST CHALLENGE YOURSELF IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET AHEAD!"

"I'm fine where I am, thanks so much..."

"LOOK AT YOUR TINY ARMS! COME HERE!"

"AH! Please, God no, I just want to drink my beer..."

"Run Izumo! I'll distract him while you make a break for it!" Kotetsu leaped in front of his friend and flailed his arms at Gai. Izumo looked like he took a moment to think about it; then he actually tossed money at the bar tender and bolted out of the joint. The jounin laughed and Kotetsu bowed for his performance then promptly ran after his friend.

Iruka had his head in his hands. He would bet money his chuunin companions weren't going to be asking to come out again.

"Excuse me for a moment." He called politely to his amused jounin friends before slipping off his stool and following the chuunin outside. He made it just in time to catch them before they made their final decision to actually bolt and basically run from their comrades.

"Ah...sorry about that." He said to them with a nervous chuckle, scratching his scar with embarrassment. "They have an interesting sense of humour."

Izumo sighed. "It's alright; really, I should have expected it. I never understand what the heck Gai-san is saying when he talks to me at the missions desk, Kakashi-san is known to mess with people more then he actually speaks to them, and Genma-san...well, he's Genma."

Iruka laughed, unable to deny any of it.

"Man, Iruka, how the heck do you stick around those guys with your dignity intact? Do you have some kind of Jounin Socializing Secret? If so, SHARE!" Kotetsu looked slightly stricken by the end of his request.

Iruka actually took a moment to think about it. Gai-san treated everyone the same way; you just had to get to know him to actually catch glimpses of his serious moments. Kakashi...well. Kakashi was a whole other story. You REALLY had to get to know Kakashi and unfortunately, not many people had or would have the pleasure of doing that. Genma was pretty much the same as Gai; once you got used to him he was just another quirky jounin.

"No, honestly; no secrets. You really just have to get to know them. They're...well. They're wonderful; all of them."

Kotetsu and Izumo seemed taken aback by the blatant sincerity in Iruka's voice. They both looked slightly shamed.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Kotetsu muttered. Something seemed to come back to him because he jerked out of his funk and eyed Iruka suspiciously. "So...speaking of 'wonderful jounin'; you and Kakashi seem especially...close, eh?"

Iruka remained composed, amazingly, but inside his head was swimming. This was pretty much the 'moment' he'd been thinking of. However, now that it was here, he suddenly felt stubborn about taking it. He realized he did NOT want to deal with the inevitable fall out a revelation of their relationship would cause. He didn't really care if the jounin knew, because they were the most discreet group of people you could ever meet. They naturally never spoke of other people's business because secrecy was so thoroughly integrated into their everyday lives.

However...most chuunin were not like that at all, especially ones who spent most of their time in the village. Iruka also knew, for a fact, that Kotetsu and Izumo were not like that. He really liked his chuunin friends, but if he told them about his relationship with Kakashi, it was pretty much guaranteed that the entire village would know in a week. Max.

"Yes, we are. He IS...well, hard to get close to at first, but once you break the ice he's an amazing person. I am incredibly grateful that I have been fortunate enough to get close to him; I hope for both your benefits that you are able to do the same."

Kotetsu and Izumo looked shocked at Iruka's genuine answer. They also seemed slightly cowed and definitely satiated. Izumo nodded lightly while Kotetsu still seemed mildly surprised.

"Ah...yah, well, I believe that; hard to be respected by everyone if you don't deserve it, right?" Izumo added sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, we better get going. We've still got a LOT of work to do tomorrow and it's getting late. Thanks for inviting us out, Iruka; the three of us should go for drinks soon! It's been too long."

"Yah man!" Kotetsu chimed in, suddenly perking up. "I didn't know you hit the bars so often, . We'll show you how to REALLY party; it ain't just the jounin's who can do it!"

Iruka laughed pleasantly, smiling at the two friends. "I agree, and I'd love to."

When they said their goodbyes and the two best friends had leapt away, Iruka turned to go back into the bar –but smacked into something hard, but soft.

"Ah- Kakashi!" He gasped, looking up at the jounin in shock. "I don't know WHY I'm surprised that I didn't sense you there. Did you just leave?"

"Nope. I've been listening." The jounin admitted without shame.

Iruka turned completely red. "O-oh..." was all he could say. He didn't know why he was embarrassed; everything he said to his friends he would easily say to Kakashi's face.

The jounin was smiling warmly down at Iruka. "I see you changed your mind about revealing our darkest secrets to your friends?"

"Ah, yes..." Iruka looked down, still slightly embarrassed. "I just. I don't know...It's not that I'm ashamed or anything, I just...I didn't want to deal with it. I think you're starting to rub off on me."

Kakashi laughed happily. "My plan is working..."

Iruka shoved him lightly. "Kakashi..."

"In all seriousness." The jounin continued. "You owe no one any explanations. For example; Asuma and I spoke more often than people thought and he didn't tell me about his and Kurenai's relationship until they had been dating for months. I knew about it, as did most people, but he didn't tell me. So, why should you feel obliged?"

Kakashi always had a way of making Iruka feel better, and this time was no exception. He leaned his chest against the taller mans and resisted the urge to rest his head on the jounin's shoulder. Instead, he looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes, of course you're right. I just...well, I don't know. I feel this frustrating urge to do the "right" thing all the time. I thought maybe that was the right thing, but I think it really is whatever is most comfortable for us."

Kakashi's eye smile was brighter than ever. "Remember, I don't care; so whatever you want to do, you can do. If anyone bugs us about it, I'll just kill them."

Iruka raised an eyebrow at Kakashi and the jounin just smiled away. For some reason, the academy sensei could not tell if his lover was joking or not. He continued to stare hoping for some kind of give away, but Kakashi was a mask of innocence.

"...Ah...really?"

"No, Iruka."

"UGH. HOW do you DO that?"

Kakashi laughed. "Sorry, but I'm not comfortable divulging that information. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

The jounin received a punch to the shoulder as a comeback.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They returned to the bar to find the two remaining jounin had not missed their company.

"I'm TELLING you, that is effing IMPOSSIBLE!"

"It is only impossible to the weak willed! I, however, have the stamina and strength to see it through! YOU WILL NEVER PROSPER IF YOU DO NOT REACH FOR THE STARS!"

"Your damn HEAD is in the stars. I swear, how have you survived this long?"

"BECAUSE!" Gai shot out of his chair, sending it flying backwards. Genma could immediately see that he had made a terrible mistake.

"I AM THE DYNAMIC DREAM!" He thrust his hip to the right, and a dolphin popped into existence and swam across a crescent wave into the moonlight. "THE ULTIMATE HARD WORKER!" His hip popped to the left and a baby was born in an instant.

"I AM..!" He seemed to wind up for something big and Iruka had the strong, self-preserving urge to leave immediately.

"**KONOHA'S MAGNIFICANT BLUE BEAST!"**

Gai threw both of his arms in the air and a massive fissure formed beneath him, practically splitting the bar in half. Everyone in the facility screamed and ducked under their tables. A sky appeared in the ceiling of the building and a blinding sun descended from it and illuminated the posing ninja from behind. Sparkles seemed to appear out of nowhere and swirled around him in a flurry of shininess. Angels swooped down from the heavens and plucked at their harps beside him. Dragons twirled around his legs.

Iruka was clinging to Kakashi, who was apparently used to even this calibre of ridiculousness and was standing on top of the bar gazing at Gai with his usual bored expression.

The green clad ninja finally took a look around the Shaky Shinobi to see how his conversation companion had dealt with the answer to his question.

Genma was gone; he had booked it as soon as the angels appeared.

Gai was beside himself.

"HOW DARE HE! MY DISPLAY OF HIPNESS SHALL NOT GO UNNOTICED!"

Gai wound up and then blasted out of the building, shattering all of the glasses and cups lined on the shelves behind him. Iruka could not believe the amount of damage he had caused just by shouting his proclamations to the establishment. Gai was like some kind of bazaar, unhinged demi-god of lunacy.

When the patrons of the demolished bar finally felt safe enough to leave the safety of their covers they got the hell out of there faster than the chuunin had ever seen civilians run. In no time at all, they were the only ones left.

Kakashi seemed to sigh in defeat, as if he knew what was coming next, and shuffled around in his pockets for his wallet. Iruka gave him a questioning look.

"This happens all the time; I'm going to pay for the damages."

Iruka was about to protest, but Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Gai always pays me back, and I get to see him punish himself as compensation. It's worth it."

"But, Kakashi...he made a huge mess. You have enough money to pay for all of this?"

The jounin smiled lightly. "It's not like I had much else to spend it on until recently, Iruka."

The academy sensei wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just smiled at his love and watched him deal with the distraught bar owner with far too much practice then the chuunin wanted to think about.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They arrived at Kakashi's place with a giant, whole hearted sigh of relief; they had begun to alternate between their apartments when neighbours started asking uncomfortable questions they didn't feel like answering.

Kakashi had been amazed the owner of the bar was even upset at this point; Gai had totally demolished his place twice already and had wrecked several others in his long career as an overzealous shinobi.

Iruka sat on the copy-nins bed and leaned against the wall, reflecting on their night. "I wonder if Gai ever found Genma; it's not like he can avoid him forever."

Kakashi tossed his vest into his closet with a 'hmm'. Iruka continued. "I had no idea Gai caused actual damage to Konoha on a relatively frequent basis; how is he still allowed in those restaurants?"

The jounin joined his love on the bed after he'd stripped himself of his blue standard top and mask and left his mesh undershirt. "Well, they don't end up suffering any expenses from it, and Gai brings them enough business to compensate. Besides...it's almost a part of living in this village. They just kind of accept it."

Iruka scrunched his nose up; that sounded weird and wrong. Kakashi grinned and leaned forward. "Gai terrifies them; they don't want to risk his wrath. He IS capable of completely putting them out of business with very little effort."

Iruka just levelled Kakashi with an unimpressed look, which earned a bigger grin from the jounin. "Well. Which story do you dislike less? You can accept that one."

Iruka sighed. "Kakashi...which one is true?"

"They both are." He answered simply. "The fact is that Gai is a respected shinobi who always cleans up after his colossal messes; the other fact is that he is a dangerous shinobi capable of colossal messes." He shrugged.

Iruka stared at him in awe. "Do...people really think Gai would hurt them on purpose?"

"Some of them simply don't rule it out; it's not easy facing so much power when you have none of your own."

Iruka looked down, reflecting on Kakashi's words. He felt naive admitting it to himself, but he had never thought of that before. All the Konoha ninja he knew were honourable and fought to defend their village and everyone in it; he never considered the villagers would be scared of any of them just because they were strong.

Kakashi lightly grasped Iruka's chin and tilted his head up so they were facing each other. "No frowning on my bed."

At first Iruka smiled. Then, he suddenly got the overwhelming urge to cause shit. He grinned at Kakashi and smoothly slid off the bed.

"Here. Now I can frown."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Ah. So it's like that, is it?"

"It is."

The jounin regarded Iruka steadily for a second more before he, quick as a flash, propped himself up against the wall and kicked the bed out from under him, sending it crashing against Iruka's legs. The chuunin squawked and fell sideways, landing on the bed. Kakashi kneeled over him with his infamous eye smile.

"There. Back on the bed; back to my rules."

Iruka glared and leaped up, jumping off –to land on the bed. He blinked in confusion.

Kakashi stood on the floor, his leg still extended from when he kicked the bed once again. He was still smiling.

"I could do this all night."

Iruka figured there had to be SOME way he could outsmart Kakashi. Clearly, the jounin was ridiculously faster than him –his love had proven this on dozens of occasions, most of them not innocent and involving copious foreplay.

He put his hands together and formed the signs for a shadow clone. His copy popped into life beside him and leaped off the bed in one direction at the same time Iruka leaped in the other.

He landed on the bed. He looked to the side and noticed his shadow clone, utterly confused, had landed on the bed too. They both looked ahead to see two Kakashi's with their hands in their pockets, smiling down at them innocently.

What...

When did he...

Okay. He could still do this.

Iruka's shadow clone leaped forward to tackle both Kakashi's, as they were so close together, and Iruka jumped to the side as fast as he could, seeing the hardwood floor so close and tantalizing...

He landed on the bed.

"UGH HOW!?"

Kakashi's shadow clone had Iruka's shadow clone in a headlock, and real Kakashi still had his foot propped up on the bed from when he'd kicked it under Iruka.

The chuunin bowed his head; he didn't know WHY he insisted on initiating these challenges with Kakashi when their skill levels were so brazenly different.

"Dispel your shadow clone."

Iruka looked up with a blink. Both Kakashi's were looking at him while his shadow clone squirmed around unsuccessfully.

Iruka stuck up his nose. "Nope."

Kakashi wilted slightly. "Come on..."

"Nope. Why don't you dispel it? You've already trapped me."

Kakashi sighed. "I can't. That's like...hitting you."

Iruka wasn't expecting that. It definitely melted his defiant attitude. "Kakashi...it's not me."

"But it looks exactly like you..." Kakashi turned to the trapped clone and poked it in the ribs lightly. 'Iruka' laughed and kicked at him. "See? He has your ticklish spots."

Well, real Iruka thought that was the damn sweetest thing ever. Resolve effectively blown away, he clasped his hands together and his clone 'poofed' away in an instant.

"Really, Kakashi, sometimes it amazes me how sweet you can-AHH!"

Both Kakashi's had leaped forward blindingly fast and pinned Iruka to the bed. He gaped up at them.

"I take it back! You are not sweet –what is this?"

"You started it, Iruka." Kakashi purred. "Whatever happens next, you have only yourself to blame."

Iruka actually felt real fear. "Wh-what?"

"You know what I've ALWAYS wanted to do?" Clone Kakashi asked as Real Kakashi nipped at his ear. The clone slowly dragged his hands down Iruka's chest as he spoke. "I've always wanted to have you completely and hopelessly at my mercy. Sometimes I think about all the other things I could be doing to make you scream while I take you; I figure this is the best way to accomplish my goal."

Iruka was frozen to the spot, the conflicting emotions of desperate want and uncertainty playing with each other in his mind. Part of him was positively thrilled, and the rest had no idea how he was supposed to handle TWO Kakashi's...doing...you know...one was enough, really!

"K-Kakashi, I...I don't know about this..." He whispered, gazing up at his love with wide eyes.

The jounin's response was to smile, teeth gleaming like a predator, and slowly dip down to place a soft kiss on Iruka's lips. "We'll see what you don't know in about five minutes."

The clone slipped his hands under Iruka's shirt and pushed it all the way up, dragging his nails lightly along the chuunin's skin as he went; Iruka couldn't help a shudder in response. He felt Kakashi tilting his head up so their eyes locked.

His expression was soft, and it calmed Iruka. They kissed, gently and slowly. The chuunin felt Kakashi tugging at his bunched up shirt and he lifted his arms. The shirt came off, and not a second later he squeaked and jumped slightly. Clone Kakashi was placing soft, electric kisses down his chest.

He knew it was Kakashi, and that Kakashi had created him, but for some reason it felt almost like cheating; feeling another pair of lips on him when he knew his love wasn't the one kissing him just felt that foreign. He looked back up at the jounin with his uncertainty and Kakashi simply levelled him with a smouldering gaze. The copy-nin gripped the bottom of his own shirt, keeping his eyes on Iruka, and pulled it off. The chuunin watched his lovers muscles flex with his movements, his shoulders and ribs expanding as he tugged the fabric over his toned forearms. It was moments like these that Kakashi's sexiness really amazed Iruka. His want suddenly engulfed him and when Kakashi swooped back down for a kiss the chuunin opened his arms to him and wrapped them around his back, running his nails over his skin as they kissed heatedly. Iruka couldn't help moaning into Kakashi's mouth; he suddenly wanted him so badly that every taste and touch went straight to his groin.

He gasped when he felt the clone yank his pants off. Kakashi quickly straddled Iruka's stomach, blocking his view of the jutsu's ministrations. The chuunin had no time to argue as Kakashi began sucking on his neck and his head fell back in response.

"Oh...Kakashi-AHH! W-wow...wow..."

The clone had grasped his cock and was licking trails up and down his shaft. Iruka's hips bucked in surprise and he moaned softly. The chuunin glanced up at Kakashi, his eyes asking if this was ok. The jounin's response was to kiss Iruka hungrily, then pull away and growl.

"I swear; I will never get sick of you looking at me like that. No matter what I do to you, no matter how many times I take you, you still manage to look innocent." He tilted Iruka's head to the side and licked a trail up his exposed neck.

"It makes me want to dirty you." The copy-nin whispered into the chuunin's ear.

Iruka moaned loudly as the clone took his entire length into his mouth. Kakashi scraped his teeth down the chuunin's chest and lightly bit his nipples. Iruka gasped and arched his back. He grasped Kakashi's wrist and pulled his hand up so he could trail his tongue around his fingers, staring down at the jounin with lust laden eyes.

Kakashi watched Iruka silently, but the clone sucked and licked him as its mouth worked its way up and down the chuunin's length and Iruka was moaning and bucking again, his head tilting back from the copy-nins hand. Kakashi kissed his neck and his chest and his jaw. He ran his nails over the chuunins skin and Iruka buried his head in the crook of Kakashi's neck, wanting to cling to his lover. The jounin wouldn't have it and tilted Iruka's head back. He brought their faces so close together their noses were touching.

"Do you like it?"

"Ah...Haa...Yes...Kakashi..."

They kissed again, their mouths open and their tongues clashing, Iruka keening into Kakashi's lips as the clone continued to suck on him.

"Mmm...this is what I'm talking about; you're completely mine. And no matter what I do, you'll always look at me that way..." he kissed under Iruka's jaw, then gestured behind him and the clone stopped.

Before Iruka could protest, Kakashi was shifting down his body. The clone had stepped out of the way and placed something in the jounin's hand. Iruka felt a hard, gripping shiver run through his body when he realized it was lube. "Kakashi..." He moaned, their gazes locked as Kakashi prepped himself; he didn't even realize the jounin had taken his pants off.

"Iruka...when I take you, I want you to close your eyes and keep them closed."

The chuunin looked to the side; the clone was kneeling beside him, hands on his hips, grinning wickedly at Iruka. It reminded him of the time when Kakashi's clone had almost kissed him while the jounin was gone; they really were exactly like their casters. He glanced back at Kakashi and the look he gave the copy-nin told him he'd happily comply.

His hips were lifted and positioned and then Kakashi penetrated him, slowly and deliberately; he knew exactly where Iruka felt it the most, exactly where he'd be screaming the copy-nin's name in no time. The chuunin bit his lip and held Kakashi's smouldering gaze for another moment before he closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles, melting into the bed.

He felt Kakashi begin to move inside of him and his breath quickened. He gripped the sheets as the pace increased, moaning lightly and rocking his hips along with the jounin's movements.

He felt someone hold his hips steady and a warm mouth closed over the head of his penis. His eyes almost flew open but he remembered what he told Kakashi and squeezed them shut.

"Haaa! Oh..._Kakashi..._" He groaned loudly as a tongue swept around the base of his length. He knew it must be the clone and understood why Kakashi made him close his eyes; he didn't know why, but seeing two Kakashi's threw him off.

The jounin's thrusts went faster and faster and harder and harder, and the mouth on his length sucked him in completely, swirling its tongue all around him. Iruka couldn't believe how overwhelmed he was; he had never felt such intense pleasure. It was so much sensation all at once, and he was wound up so tight, he didn't think he'd actually be able to finish.

"KAKASHI...HAAhaa...Ohhh...AHH!"

"Yes, this is what I wanted..." The jounin's voice purred in his ear, and Iruka almost opened his eyes again in shock; there couldn't be a THIRD clone. Soft kisses trailed down his cheek and around his jaw, a gentle hand tilting his head up.

"Who do you belong to, Iruka?"

"Oh, God..." The chuunin moaned, instinctively reaching up and gripping the strong body above him. He felt thick muscle and soft skin; exactly what he was used to. He tried to curl into the warm body above him but arms pushed his shoulders down and pinned him to the bed. He whimpered and squirmed.

"KAKASHI...Please, please stop...It's...AHH, HAA...it's...too much..."

In response, he was pushed up into the headboard with the strength of the jounin's thrusts, and the copy-nin pounded into him as the clone hovering over his hips sucked and moved his mouth up and down his length completely unperturbed.

"AHHH! OHHHKAKASHIPLEASEPLEASE!"

Iruka's head banged against the wood as it fell back, and he squirmed and pushed against the arms holding him down. There was a clawing, raging, burning build up of pleasure in his abdomen and he couldn't release it, couldn't hold anyone or cling to anything.

"Who do you belong to?"

"YOUKAKASHIYOUPLEASE...HAAA...PLEASE..."

There was another soft kiss to his cheek before two consecutive 'poofs' and the warmth on his cock and the hands on his shoulders disappeared. He groaned loudly and his eyes finally flew open. He saw Kakashi holding his head with his eyes screwed closed as the clone's memories flooded him. A couple of seconds later, he emitted a low, deep, sexy moan, louder than anything Iruka had ever heard from him. The jounin opened his eyes and they were hard with primal lust. He bent over Iruka so far that their chests almost rubbed together and fucked the chuunin senselessly, gripping the headboard and leaning his weight on it.

Iruka clung to Kakashi's back and screamed into his neck. He heard the jounin moaning and panting and thought very vaguely that he had never seen the copy-nin so riled up. Finally, his vision swam and something in his abdomen snapped and he was flooded with overwhelming waves of pleasure. He screamed his release and continued to cling to his love, his whole body shaking.

He heard Kakashi moan loudly and felt the jounin gripping his sides as he came. They both stayed trapped in each other's embrace, their breath still jagged and quick. Once they had calmed down enough for conversation Kakashi rolled onto his side and pulled Iruka with him. The chuunin was red with embarrassment and couldn't bring himself to look up into the copy-nins eyes.

"Are you alright, Iruka?"

The academy sensei just nodded his head quickly and Kakashi chuckled. "I'm sorry...if it was a little much; I've wanted to do that for a while."

Iruka finally glanced up to see Kakashi's eyes full of affection.

"No, it wasn't too much. Well...uh...it was...I just can't believe we did that."

Kakashi grinned. "Oh...that's nothing. I have TONES of ideas."

Iruka gaped. "R-really?"

"Oh, yes. I HAVE been reading Icha-Icha for a while now; you can't read those books and not want to try some of it out."

Iruka couldn't help continuing to gape, but he also felt...excited. Part of him REALLY wanted to try whatever filthy scenario's Kakashi could cook up. He wanted to satisfy every one of his fantasies. Sometimes Iruka couldn't believe how incredibly sexual the copy-nin was.

"...Okay." He concluded with a smile.

Kakashi leaned down and kissed him. "I'm glad you said that, because I wasn't joking when I suggested having you on your desk; I'm thinking during sparring practice, when the kids are outside..."

Iruka sputtered. "UMMM, Kakashi, I don't think so."

"It's too late, you said ok."

"I said "OK" to the general concept of playing out your sexual fantasies. We are NOT having sex while school is still in session! Think of the children!"

"It'll be a great lesson for them."

"I'm not even going to consider it."

"Come ooooonnnn..."

"Kakashi..."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They slept until Iruka's alarm woke them both; it was a school day and the chuunin had to get ready for work. The academy sensei yawned loudly and rubbed at his eyes; he still couldn't believe the things he got up to on a school night, but this was the affect Kakashi had on him. A big part of him liked it, although he had been very resistant at first. It made him feel...well, a little reckless, which was a big change from his by-the-book lifestyle before he'd been with the jounin. He found a little bit of 'couldn't care less' in his life really enriched it.

They were NOT having sex on his desk, though. Kakashi could whine all he wanted.

Iruka slowly got his things together, showered and pulled on his clothes. Kakashi dutifully made the academy sensei his tea, popped a bun in his mouth and tied up his hair while the chuunin had his breakfast. Another thing that still amazed Iruka about Kakashi was how doting he could be; he really enjoyed caring for another person. It made Iruka truly happy that he allowed the jounin to express that part of his personality, especially since it seemed to make the copy-nin happy as well.

Once he was ready, he stood before the door to Kakashi's apartment with a blissful smile on his face.

"Well, I'm off. Thanks for breakfast, as usual. I have a lot of marking to get done tonight, but tomorrow I'll come over straight from work, okay?"

Kakashi nodded and saluted him mockingly. Iruka smacked his arm lightly with his book bag.

"I'm going to be bored today, so I'll drop by to visit you at lunch time."

Iruka gave him a warning eyebrow raise and Kakashi waved him off. "No antics, I promise."

The chuunin smiled. "Alright, I look forward to it."

Kakashi leaned down and they kissed, soft and lingering.

"Have a good day." The jounin whispered with a smile.

Iruka blushed; he really enjoyed domestic moments like this, but they made him so giddy he could hardly look at his lover.

"Thanks..." He paused, his blush intensifying. "...Love you."

Kakashi's smile bloomed till his entire face was glowing.

"Love you, too."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

AND IM DONE!

PHEW. Man...what a ride. I had no idea this fic would end up being 21 chapters, but I really enjoyed writing it and I thank each and every one of you who read and reviewed. I am definitely going to be writing more stories, and I already have a KakaIru one shot in mind. I left the ending of this fic pretty like...open, because shit in Naruto gets INTENSE after Pein and It's going to take another 20 chapters to try and incorporate their relationship into it.

...Huh. That might not be a bad idea for a story.

Speaking of stories, if anyone here doesn't read the manga...do it. DO IT!

Oh. Just got ANOTHER idea. Mwahahaha. Man, I hope I actually have time to write. I was all pumped about being done school 'cause it meant free time, but i've actually been twice as busy x.x

ANYWAY, stand by! :D Hope you liked this chapter!


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